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The National Archives of Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to the people, their cultures and Elders past, present and emerging.

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What is the Uluru Statement?

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation from First Nations to "walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future". It was issued to the Australian people in May 2017 following almost two years of work.

The Uluru Statement calls for structural reform including constitutional change. Structural reform means establishing a new relationship between First Nations and the Australian nation based on justice and self-determination where Indigenous cultures and peoples can flourish, and we all move forward.

Where did the Uluru Statement come from?

The Uluru Statement builds on the strong history of Indigenous advocacy for a better future based on justice and self-determination. Gathered in Central Australia in May 2017 on the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, First Nations forged a historic consensus on structural reform and constitutional change.

This consensus followed a ground-breaking process First Nations from across Australia through 12 deliberative dialogues. Joining each dialogue were a representative sample of approximately 100 Indigenous people drawn from local traditional owners, Indigenous community-based organisations and Indigenous leaders. These regional dialogues selected their own representatives to attend the First Nations Constitutional Convention at Uluru. At the Convention, and by an overwhelming consensus, more than 250 delegates adopted the Uluru Statement.

The key to achieving that remarkable consensus on such a complex problem was a process that was designed and led by First Nations people, which had no precedent in Australian history. That process was agreed to by government after Aboriginal leaders drew a line in the sand in 2015. At a meeting with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition at Kirribilli House in July 2015, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders made two things clear. If Australia was going to successfully deliver constitutional recognition, it would have to involve substantive reform and make a practical difference - inserting merely symbolic words of acknowledgment would not work. Secondly, the leaders at Kirribilli insisted that First Nations people had to have a direct say in what constitutional recognition meant to them, through a dialogue process that had trust and legitimacy in the eyes of the participants.

In December 2015 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the establishment of the Referendum Council and that it would oversee a deliberative process designed and led by First Nations people. A lot of thought and consultation went into the design of the Regional Dialogues and it was carefully road-tested and trialled before the first Regional Dialogue in December 2016.

What changes does the Uluru Statement call for?

The Uluru Statement calls for a First Nations Voice to Parliament and a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling. These reforms are: Voice, Treaty, Truth.

The first reform is the constitutional enshrinement of a Voice to Parliament (Voice). A Voice is a common reform adopted around the world by liberal democracies to improve democratic participation for Indigenous populations. In Australia, the Voice will empower First Nations politically. It will be a permanent institution for expressing First Nations' views to the parliament and government on important issues affecting First Nations.

The second reform is the Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations (Treaty), and truth-telling (Truth). Voice, Treaty and Truth provide a clear and practical path forward for First Nations' self-determination in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Why is change necessary?

Structural reform is needed to give First Nations greater say and authority over the decisions that impact them. Structural reform means making real changes to the way decisions are made and by who, rather than simply tinkering with existing processes of decision-making and control.

First Nations comprise 3 per cent of the Australian population. This means it is difficult for First Nations' voices to be heard in elections and in Parliament. First Nations have little say over the laws that impact them and their rights.

This is a problem because the Commonwealth has a particular law-making power based on race. The so-called 'Races Power' in the Constitution has never been directed at any other racial group in Australia - it has only ever been used to make laws about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. There is also a 'Territories Power' in the Constitution. It allows the Commonwealth to exercise very direct power over people in places such as the Northern Territory, where more than 30% of the population is Aboriginal.These special powers have been used to pass many laws on Indigenous matters from land rights to cultural heritage laws. However the powers have been used to pass laws that negatively impact First Nations without First Nations' consultation or consent.

This practice ignores First Nations' right to self-determination set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Article 19 of the Declaration recognises that before any new laws or policies affecting Indigenous peoples are adopted, 'States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent'.

What did the Uluru Statement say about sovereignty?

The Uluru Statement says that First Nations' sovereignty was never ceded and coexists with the Crown's sovereignty today. That sovereignty comes from a different source to the sovereignty claimed by the Crown: from the ancestral tie between the land and its people. The Uluru Statement calls for this "ancient sovereignty" of First Nations to be recognised through structural reform including constitutional change. Enshrining a First Nations Voice is recognition of First Nations' sovereignty and First Nations' rights based on their unique political and cultural existence. Sovereignty is not undermined nor diminished by Voice, Treaty and Truth.

First Nations in other countries are acknowledged and recognised in national constitutions. This includes in Canada, the United States and Norway. First Nations in those countries have used these constitutional clauses to exercise their self-determination and empower Indigenous peoples.

Is a representative voice a new idea?

First Nations have always called for the protection and recognition of their rights. This includes calling for First Nations representation and empowerment in decision making and control of their own affairs. There is an unbroken line that runs from before federation connecting this early advocacy and the Uluru Statement.

This includes the advocacy of Tasmanian Aboriginal people at Wybalenna (Flinders Island) in 1847 to Queen Victoria regarding their treatment, the Australian Aborigines' League organising under the likes of William Cooper and the 1938 gathering at the Day of Mourning, the Yirrkala Bark Petitions of 1963, the campaigning that led to the 1967 referendum, the 1972 Larrakia Petition, the Barunga Statement of 1988, the achievement of native title recognition in the 1992 Mabo decision, the report on the Social Justice Package by ATSIC in 1995, the Kalkaringi Statement of 1998, and the Kirribilli Statement of 2015.

Throughout this history, there have been consistent calls for a representative voice in decision making, the right to self-determination, treaty, and for the truth to be told about First Nations and Australian history.

Why a constitutionally enshrined Voice?

The Uluru Statement calls for a Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the Australian Constitution by way of a enabling provision. Previous First Nations' representative bodies (such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)) were set up administratively or by legislation. That meant they were easily abolished by successive governments depending on their priorities. Setting up and then abolishing representative bodies cuts across progress, damages working relationships and wastes talent that could be used to solve complex problems.

In the Regional Dialogues people said they were frustrated with this chopping and changing. They wanted a long lasting and durable Voice in decisions made about their own affairs. That is the reason the Uluru Statement calls for a Voice enshrined in the Constitution. They didn't want a body that could be abolished by legislation, or with the stroke of a pen by a politician. Backed by the people at a referendum, a Voice enshrined in the Constitution can make a lasting contribution to a better future for First Nations and all Australians.

The Uluru Statement does not detail the structure of the Voice and how it will do its job. That is a process separate from achieving constitutional change. The Uluru Statement asks the Australian people to give their support at a referendum on a question of fundamental principle: that First Nations should have a Voice enshrined in the Constitution. The details including the functions, powers and processes of the Voice, will be worked out between government and First Nations and put into legislation. That legislation can be amended from time to time as lessons are learnt from experience, while the existence of the Voice itself is guaranteed in the Constitution.

Does the Uluru Statement call for a third chamber of parliament?

No.

Is the Voice proposal limited because it will only be able to advise parliament on policy and legislation?

No. The Voice will have powers and functions to support First Nations people across a range of matters, as agreed between First Nations and government. Its strength for First Nations communities, as well as its value to government, will come from the legitimacy of being a genuinely representative, collective Voice. And from the mandate gained from the Australian people at a referendum.

How were the dialogues run?

The dialogues were organised by a secretariat established under the Referendum Council. This secretariat was run by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). In each of 12 regions, AIATSIS engaged a local land council or similar representative body to be a partner in hosting a dialogue. The purpose of each regional dialogue was to gain a robust representative sample of First Nations' views on recognition and reform. The process needed to be more than opinion. It needed to be fully informed decision-making. The dialogue model was also designed to avoid "group think". The model combined information provision such as civics or legal and political education, plenary discussions, break-out groups and the settling of a communique that was owned and endorsed by the participants as a record of their meeting. This means that every single dialogue participant signed off on and agreed to a record of meeting.

Given that the budget from the Commonwealth was limited, the dialogues were capped at 100 participants per region. The local partner organisation prepared an invitation list according to a formula that was used across all the regions:

60% from traditional owner groups or "Who we are"

20% from local community organisations "What we do"

20% local community members as well as members of the Stolen Generations who might not have otherwise attended.

The formula was important to ensure that the dialogue drew on cultural authority, accurately represented local needs, and was not dominated by particular groups or individuals.

What is a First Nations Voice?

The details of the First Nations Voice are not set out in the Statement, and will be the subject of further deliberation and negotiation. It is likely that it would be an elected First Nations national representative body, and that it would be empowered to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a voice in laws that affect them.

The Statement calls for a constitutionally entrenched First Nations Voice. It would be a voice that cannot be removed unless by a future constitutional referendum.

Do other countries have a First Nations Voice?

Yes. There are many ways that this can be achieved. Norway, Sweden and Finland all have a First Nations Parliament, with authority over certain matters and a right to be consulted over legislation that affects them. In contrast, the New Zealand Parliament has seven seats reserved for Māori people. Both of these mechanisms allow Indigenous peoples to have a voice in the processes of government.

Other countries adopt different approaches. In Colombia, a constitutional provision requires the government to consult with Indigenous peoples before permitting natural resource exploitation on Indigenous land. In some cases, the Colombian Constitutional Court has determined that particular instances of consultation were not adequate.

These different arrangements follow international standards. Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed by Australia in 2009, provides that Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision making institutions'.

What is a Makarrata Commission?

Makarrata is a Yolgnu word meaning 'a coming together after a struggle'. A Makarrata Commission would have two roles: supervising a process of agreement-making, and overseeing a process of truth-telling.

Agreements between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Australian governments have been negotiated for many years in Australia, for example under native title and land rights legislation. The Makarrata Commission would allow these processes to be struck at a national level and regionally with First Nations, by providing support and momentum and helping the parties reach agreement.

Another function of a Makarrata Commission would be to supervise a process of 'truth-telling': a process that allows the full extent of the past injustices experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be uncovered and revealed. Such a process would allow all Australians to understand our history and assist in moving towards genuine reconciliation.

This process may be similar in form to inquiry that led to the Bringing Them Home report, which revealed the truth surrounding the Stolen Generations. The inquiry involved an extensive program of hearings in every capital city and in many regional centres. In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised in Parliament for government law and policies that resulted in the Stolen Generations.

Do other countries have agreements between Indigenous peoples and governments?

Yes. Agreements have been reached in the US and New Zealand, and are still being negotiated in Canada through a Treaty Commission today.

Why is change necessary?

Reform is needed to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples greater say in and authority over decisions that affect them.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples only comprise 3 per cent of the Australian population. This means that it is difficult for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices to be heard in elections and in Parliament. They have little say over the laws that impact on them.

This is particularly problematic, because the federal Parliament has two main sources power to make laws with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: an express power for the Parliament to pass laws on the basis of race and the power to make laws in the territories. These powers have been used to pass laws that have been disadvantageous to Aboriginal people without any consultation or consent from them. This is in breach of the right to self-determination that is set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Article 3 of the Declaration recognises that before any new laws or policies affecting Indigenous peoples are adopted, 'States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent'.

So what did the 1967 referendum achieve?

The 1967 referendum is remembered as one of the great successes in the advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Certainly, gaining more than 90% of voter support constituted an extraordinary electoral success.

There is a widespread belief that the referendum granted Aboriginal people "equality" before the law by way of voting and citizenship rights. However, from a legal perspective, the changes to the Constitution were minor.

The referendum made two technical changes to the Constitution.

The first removed the provision that excluded Aboriginal people from the counting of the people of the Commonwealth.

The second was an amendment to remove an exclusion of Aboriginal people from the power to make special laws for people of any race. Prior to the referendum, the states had sole responsibility for making laws for Aboriginal people.

This was a momentous change, but it fell far short of both providing substantive equality and meeting Indigenous aspirations. Indeed, the Constitution still permits the Parliament to enact laws that discriminate based on a person's race. This power has only ever been used to discriminate against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The referendum was important, but it was only half the story; it did not provide a voice for Aboriginal peoples. As the Uluru Statement explains: 'In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard'.

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Frequently asked Questions - Uluru Statement from the Heart

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The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation from First Nations to "walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future". It was issued to the Australian people in May 2017 following almost two years of work. The Uluru Statement calls for structural reform including constitutional change.

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MIdnight Oil

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"We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart:

Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from 'time immemorial', and according to science more than 60,000 years ago.

This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or 'mother nature', and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.

How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years?

With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia's nationhood.

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.

These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.

We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.

We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.

We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.

In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future."

For more info head to www.ulurustatement.org + www.fromtheheart.com.au.
'THE MAKARRATA PROJECT' OUT NOW STREAM / DOWNLOAD HERE
Midnight Oil will donate their share of proceeds from THE MAKARRATA PROJECT to organisations that seek to elevate The Uluru Statement From The Heart ( www.ulurustatement.org + www.fromtheheart.com.au). Sony Music Entertainment Australia will match any artist contribution. After centuries of struggle for recognition and justice, 2017's Uluru Statement called for the establishment of a 'First Nations Voice' enshrined in the Australian Constitution and the establishment of a 'Makarrata Commission' to supervise agreement-making and truth-telling between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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THE MAKARRATA PROJECT out now - Midnight Oil

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"We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from 'time immemorial', and according to science more than 60,000 years ago.

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Australians Together

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Skip to content

We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this land and commit to building a brighter future together.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Find out more

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Our history matters | Australians Together

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Skip to content We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this land and commit to building a brighter future together.

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NITV

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Increased discussion of a treaty between the Australian Government and Indigenous Australians has once again pushed the issue into the national spotlight.

NITV takes a look at what a treaty is, what it might look like and the current conversation on Indigenous treaties on a state, national and international level.
The above painting by John Wesley Burtt records a treaty that was given to Wurundjeri Elders by farmer John Batman at the Port Philip settlement in Victoria and was later ruled invalid.

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Increased discussion of a treaty between the Australian Government and Indigenous Australians has once again pushed the issue into the national spotlight. NITV takes a look at what a treaty is, what it might look like and the current conversation on Indigenous treaties on a state, national and international level.

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YouTube -TEDX talk

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The Uluru Statement From The Heart - an idea whose time has come | Dean Parkin | TEDxCanberra

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NAIDOC

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The National NAIDOC committee makes key decisions on National NAIDOC activities including the focus city, the theme, the National NAIDOC Poster Competition winner and the National NAIDOC Awards winners.

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ABC Net

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When, as a child, Annalee Pope ignored her parents, they delivered her a simple reprimand that contained a powerful clue about her history.

"Open your binungs!"

"Go and clean out your binungs!"

She'd grown up hearing the word for 'ears' in Waka Waka, the language of her ancestors.

Through language, her parents strengthened her connection to her culture and history.

Now, she is encouraging children across Australia to learn too.

"Kids hold the power in strengthening languages," she says.

Ms Pope is project officer at First Languages Australia (FLA), which works to ensure the survival of Australia's traditional languages in the future.

She's overseeing a national competition that invites schools to work with their local Indigenous community to translate a simple song, Marrin Gamu, into their language.

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The songs are uploaded online and serve as important contributions to the work of preserving Aboriginal languages.

It's an urgent exercise.

Of the 250 Indigenous languages in Australia today, all but 20 are highly endangered or in a 'deep sleep'.

And when you lose a language, you lose more than just words.

"Language and culture and lore is all connected and without one you really don't have the other," Ms Pope says.

"Each language is different and each language can describe what we see, so losing an Aboriginal language is losing a way to see the world."

But reviving and preserving Indigenous languages is a mammoth task. Many languages have little or no written records and when documentation does exist, it's often lean.

"It is big and daunting," Ms Pope says.

How Aboriginal languages work

Learning a simple song in an Indigenous language might not immediately demonstrate to children the full complexity of those languages - but it's a very good place to start.

A deeper look at the grammar, syntax and vocabulary of Aboriginal languages reveals interesting points of difference from English.

Reviving Indigenous languages through song

In Aboriginal languages, for example, words can have multiple meanings.

The Waka Waka word 'jun' means 'earth' but can also refer to 'sand', 'ground' and even 'tree'.

There's also a free word order.

Whereas English often follows a subject-verb-object order - 'the dog bit the boy' - in Aboriginal languages words can appear in any order, so that you could say 'the boy bit the dog' and a suffix on the word 'dog' would explain who's doing what to whom.

Word structure, Ms Pope explains, is also different from in English.

Take 'waga' or 'come'.

"If you want to say 'coming', there's no 'ing', obviously, but there is a continuous suffix," Ms Pope says.

Different verbs take one of four different suffixes.

"Depending on the way the word ends the suffix is different. So it's quite complex," Ms Pope says.

The Aboriginal language sound system is different, too.

There is a combined 'n' and 'y' sound, for example, which is like the 'ni' in 'onion' but is a single sound.

Ms Pope uses symbols to represent some sounds so speakers are discouraged from falling into English pronunciation.

"Our sounds aren't English, so we need to stop writing them that way," she says.

Hope for a new generation of speakers

The song competition, run by FLA and ABC Education, is one of several initiatives working to preserve and revive Indigenous languages.

'Word detectives', a dedicated group of linguists and teachers, are rebuilding languages from sources such as historic word lists that might contain only 100 words.

FLA's Place Names Project, which identifies places that are named using Indigenous words, helps people recognise the Aboriginal words they already know.

But it is in children, Ms Pope says, where a huge amount of power rests.

"The way I look at it, our children are going to be the next generation speakers of the language," she says.

"I don't think that I will ever actually become a fluent speaker but I know that the more I expose language to my children, the better chance they will have of being that generation that starts speaking it."

Not dead, just sleeping

We used to speak about languages "dying", but as more and more Indigenous people seek out and learn their languages, the metaphor has changed.

Read more

Ms Pope has been teaching language to her children, now aged five and six, since they were toddlers.

The feeling of hearing them speak in language, she says, is almost inexpressibly powerful.

"It's really hard to describe, but it's just amazing. Everyone in the family is so proud of them," she says.

"For us adults, we're actually making a difference for these kids - they're going to have a chance to know their language and speak it."

Their knowledge of language instils in her a hope for the future.

"One of the biggest rewards is when my kids tell me a word that they know.

"My son loves that he can speak an Aboriginal language. He tells me all the time, Mum I'm Aboriginal and I can speak in Aboriginal.

"Hearing him be proud is what helps motivate me."

The song competition, now in its fourth year, is another source of motivation for Ms Pope.

She says it's having a big impact.

"It is actually helping schools to identify who's the local traditional owner and who are the people in the community who are able to teach them language," she says.

For those schools who need it, FLA offers help to connect with their local Indigenous community.

"That is step one in breaking down the barriers. The schools are the one reaching out to the [Indigenous] community and then the community is invited into the school and are asked to participate in this project," Ms Pope says.

"The school makes those contacts and hopefully establishes a long and lasting relationship with the community."

But the competition is also an important show of support.

When non-Indigenous people learn about first languages it sends a strong message to Indigenous Australians, Ms Pope says.

"It's the whole school getting behind the Indigenous population of the school."

The school her nieces and nephews attend took part in the competition last year and the experience left a special mark.

"Where they come from it's a school of 60 kids and they're the only Aboriginal kids in the school," Ms Pope says.

"They were so proud to be part of it and to have their school supporting them."
To find out more and enter the Indigenous Languages Song Competition, see the competition page.

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Kids are keeping Aboriginal languages alive - and learning just how different they are

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When, as a child, Annalee Pope ignored her parents, they delivered her a simple reprimand that contained a powerful clue about her history. "Open your binungs!" "Go and clean out your binungs!" She'd grown up hearing the word for 'ears' in Waka Waka, the language of her ancestors.

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SBS and NITV

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An old method is getting a new lease on life in the fight against wild bush fires.

Except in this case, it's not wild, it's effective fire management practices, including the work of the Return of the Firestick project.

Trent Nelson is a Yorta Yorta/Dja Dja Wurrung man and also Parks Victoria Team Leader, a role which sees him practice traditional burning with forest fire management.

A parliamentary inquiry has found that stronger punishments are needed for people who ignore total fire bans, and put Victoria at risk of potentially catastrophic bushfires.

It also said a risk-based approach to planned burns was needed and recommended the government fund a study into the effectiveness of Indigenous fire management practices, including the work of the Return of the Firestick project.

Burning in a traditional way

Trent says the traditional way is more beneficial for the land and its Traditional owners.

"There's still a planned burn, but we don't use drip torches or anything that's going to be hazardous to the environment."

Instead, they use fire sticks.

"This is like a grass tree stalk and we ignite it from a central fire point, so we start a traditional fire using sticks. That fire is then maintained throughout the burning," Trent explained.

"Imagine dropping a pebble in the water - the fire works the same way the ripples round out. It's a mosaic burn."

Normally when a planned burn happens, every area of that burn is blackened out by fire. The leaves on the ground burn and the ground has ash all over it.

Trent says burning in a traditional way protects the habitat.

"The area is left unburnt so insects that grow and live within the bark can escape and are protected.
It protects the birds, species and habitats."

This is the first year Dja Dja Wurrung has teamed up with Forest Fire Management Victoria, to implement the Return of the Firestick project, and Trent says it's creating a different way to understand fire in the landscape.

"Fire is used on a regular basis and traditional burning is a way Traditional Owners can bring their own people back on country and heal themselves and others. Traditional burns are never going to exclude plan burning, it's basically just complimenting them.

The report also found that a significant percentage of fires are caused by human activity either through deliberate actions or through accident or negligence. In many cases, these fires could be prevented.

It recommends that the government support more arson prevention programs in other bushfire-prone regions within Victoria.

Connection and caring for Country

Mick Bourke, Dja Dja Wurrung District Planner, Forest Fire Management Victoria says that for Aboriginal people, fire has always been an important way in which they connect to and care for Country.

"We don't see fire on Country as a fearful force, we see it as a tool, if it is used right, a tool to heal and care for Country. In fact, some of our people have fire as part of their dreaming," he said.

Mick works closely with fire behaviour experts and those who've faced many bushfires in the field, so, it's a case of sharing and bringing together knowledge.

"When we began this journey to return traditional fire to this landscape, our Elders stressed the importance of community safety - community is at the heart of their thinking and the thinking of Forest Fire Management Victoria too, so, there was always that natural connection there," he said.

"In recently undertaking our first traditional burns in approximately 160 years here, we were able to do so within Victoria's 'Safer Together' planned burning program, which has its focus on reducing risk - the focus sits well with our Dja Dja Wurrung Elders, who have told us they are happy with our work, that approval means much to me, and the team I work with here."

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Indigenous fire management practices benefit Country and Traditional Owners

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An old method is getting a new lease on life in the fight against wild bush fires. Except in this case, it's not wild, it's effective fire management practices, including the work of the Return of the Firestick project.

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SBS and NITV

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Ten years on from the Apology to the Stolen Generations, the numbers of Indigenous children in out-of-home-care continues to rise.

As Elders struggle with the legacy of removal and a new generation faces an uncertain future, The Point will deliver context, comment and Indigenous perspectives in its first episode of 2018.

NITV's flagship news and current affairs program returns with a fresh one-hour, weekly format to tackle the stories and issues that matter to First Australians.

The first show will look beyond last week's media outrage around child removal to interrogate this complex issue from a broader perspective.

Co-hosts of The Point, John Paul "JP" Janke and Rachael Hocking, will be joined by guest host, Muriel Bamblett, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency to look at the current crisis, and will meet a young Aboriginal mum who has turned her life around to regain custody of her children.

Last year, an NITV News investigation exposed the historic practice of recording child removals through the Victorian criminal system that left thousands of survivors with an undeserved criminal record.

Following this report the Victorian Parliament has moved to wipe the convictions. NITV's Melbourne correspondent, Madeline Hayman-Reber reveals that this practice reaches beyond Victoria, and speaks with members of the community whose lives were changed forever.

Canberra correspondent, Nakari Thorpe will look at the work of the Healing Foundation and the human and economic benefits of addressing the trauma of child removals.
Watch The Point on Thursday evenings at 8.30pm from 22 March on NITV (Ch. 34). Join the conversation #ThePoint

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The Point returns with a special report on the Stolen Generations

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Ten years on from the Apology to the Stolen Generations, the numbers of Indigenous children in out-of-home-care continues to rise. As Elders struggle with the legacy of removal and a new generation faces an uncertain future, The Point will deliver context, comment and Indigenous perspectives in its first episode of 2018.

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YouTube

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SBS Australia

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This NAIDOC Week teacher resource is structured around the 2021 theme of 'Heal Country!'. Explore key Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives, peoples, histories and stories in this in-depth guide, featuring;

Discussion questions;

NAIDOC-themed activities;

Plentiful resource links and suggestions;

Clips for classroom viewing;

Quality, robust structures for exploring Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives year round.

SBS Learn is Official Education Partner for NAIDOC Week (2019, 2020 & 2021).

Find our beautiful PDF booklet to use alongside this web resource. Prefer a hard copy? Email us and we'll send you one: sbslearn@sbs.com.au.
Caution: SBS Learn would like to advise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that this resource may contain images, audio visual materials and/or the names of people who have died.

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Celebrate NAIDOC: Heal Country! | SBS Learn

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This NAIDOC Week teacher resource is structured around the 2021 theme of 'Heal Country!'. Explore key Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives, peoples, histories and stories in this in-depth guide, featuring; Discussion questions; NAIDOC-themed activities; Plentiful resource links and suggestions; Clips for classroom viewing; Quality, robust structures for exploring Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives year round.

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State Library of Queensland

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A re-telling of stories and songs from "Myths and Legends of the Torres Strait"

The State Library of Queensland is the proud home of the Margaret Lawrie Collection of Torres Strait Islands material. This rich collection documents the history, languages and culture of Torres Strait Islander peoples through writings, photographs and artworks. Much of the material was the basis of the books: Myths and Legends of the Torres Strait and Tales of the Torres Strait .

ReTold is a collection of online stories gathered in partnership with Torres Strait Islander language speakers and community members living in mainland Queensland.

Members from Queensland's Torres Strait Islander community remember, reclaim and retell some of the selected stories and songs from the publication Myths and Legends of the Torres Strait by Margaret Lawrie.

Co-ordinated by Leonora Adidi, a linguist of Saibai descent, the stories are retold from the perspective of the story owners. They bring to life the regional, cultural and linguistic diversity of the Torres Strait Islands. ReTold connects Torres Strait Islander communities to their traditional stories as well as making these stories accessible to everyone.

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The State Library of Queensland is the proud home of the Margaret Lawrie Collection of Torres Strait Islands material. This rich collection documents the history, languages and culture of Torres Strait Islander peoples through writings, photographs and artworks. Much of the material was the basis of the books: Myths and Legends of the Torres Strait and Tales of the Torres Strait .

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CSIRO

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Traditional Owners from the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin in the Northern Territory, worked with CSIRO to create two calendars representing Tiwi seasonal ecological knowledge.

Traditional Owners from the Tiwi Islands and the Tiwi Land Council collaborated with CSIRO to develop two calendars:

a calendar of Tiwi seasonal ecological knowledge; and

a calendar of plants and animals of Tiwi significance.

The development of the calendars came from a desire to document seasonal-specific knowledge and ecological knowledge of the Tiwi Islands in an appealing format accessible to both students and the broader community, as well as a strong concern about the loss of knowledge as older people pass away.

Senior Tiwi Traditional Owner, Bernard Tipiloura said there has been a significant loss of knowledge over the past 10 to 15 years on the Tiwi Islands.

"We're worried that kids are not learning culture so we need to think of new ways to teach them and these calendars will make a huge difference," he said.

"I feel very good about the Tiwi Seasons calendar and the Tiwi Plants and Animals calendar. The more of these things we can do, the better it will be for Tiwi culture. We need to educate the children so they can take over from us when we're gone."

Tiwi seasons calendar

The three major Tiwi seasons are:

Kumunupunari - (March to August) is the dry season of fire and smoke.

Tiyari - (September to November) is the season of hot weather and high humidity.

Jamutakari - (December to February) is the wet season when pakitiringa (rain) falls consistently every day and the swamps, creeks and rivers are full. Wunijaka, the north-west wind blows and brings rain. There is much pumurali (lightning) and thunder with the rain.

The thirteen minor overlapping Tiwi seasons are:

Wurringawunari - Season of the knock-em-downs. This is the first part of the dry season when the first dry winds blow in from the south-east, flattening the tall grass and drying up surface water.

Kimirrakinari - Season of fire when dry grass is burnt.

Pumutingari - Season of the wind that flakes skin.

Yirriwinari and Mirniputari - Season of cold weather in the middle of the dry season, mid-June to the end of July, is signalled by the flowering of Wurritjinga (Eucalyptus confertiflora)

Kumwari - Season of fog, when temperatures are low and fog develops in the mornings.

Yartupwari - Season of the dry creek bed, when waterholes and creek beds dry up.

Milikitorinari - Season of hot feet, when the hot ground burns the soles of feet. Food gathering is concentrated in the mangroves and jungle patches instead of the dry plains and woodlands.

Pumwanyingar - Season of thunder. Humidity increases and clouds develop every afternoon but there is little rain.

Kurukurari - Season of the mangrove worm. The worms are easy to find and are sweet and filling.

Mumpikari - Season of muddy possum tracks. When the first rains fall the possums return to their trees from foraging on the ground at night and leave tell-tale muddy footprints on the trunk of the tree. This makes possum hunting easier.

Tawutawungari - Season of the clap sticks. Kurlama (special yam) ceremonies are held now.

Wurrijingari - Season of the flowers.

Marrakatari - Season when tall grass flowers, and Wurringawunari - Season of the knock-em-downs, are both short and indicate the end of the wet season.

Download

The Tiwi seasons calendar was produced as part of an Inspiring Australia Unlocking Australia's Potential grant.

Tiwi plants and animals calendar

Plants and animals of Tiwi significance by season

Jamutakari (The wet season)

Yankumwani - Green plum (Buchanania obovata)

Pinyama - Pink bush apple (Syzygium suborbiculare)

Jaliwaki - Bush potato (Brachystelma glabriflorum)

Wuninga - Northern brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecular)

Yirrikipayi - Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

Arlaminga - Barramundi (Lates calcarifer)

Martapani - (Crested Tern - Sterna bergii) eggs

Kamuli - Cocky Apple (Planchonia careya)

Kumunpunari (The dry season of fire and smoke)

Kurlama - Yam (Dioscorea bulbifera)

Purnarrika - Water lily (Nymphaea violacea)

Wupwarna - Bush pumpkin (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius)

Muranga - Long yam (Dioscorea transversa)

Jukwarringa - Mud Mussel (Polymesoda erosa)

Kawukawuni - Bush Turkey (Ardeotis australis)

Yilinga - Carpet python (Morelia spilota)

Jarrakalaninga - Turtles

Tiyari (The season of hot weather and high humidity)

Minta - Cycad (Cycas armstrongii)

Malinki - Peanut tree (Sterculia quadrifida)

Mayimampi - Magpie Geese (Anseranas semipalmata)

Mantuwunjini - Dugong (Dugong dugon)

Jurriyi - Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna spp.)

Yurwuli - Mangrove worms

Download

The Tiwi plants and animals calendar was produced as part of an Inspiring Australia Unlocking Australia's Potential grant.

1. Tipiloura B, Wilson J, Johnson L, Tipungwuti J, Orsto E, Puruntatameri J and McKaige B. 2014. Tiwi Seasons, Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia. CSIRO Land and Water, Darwin.

2. Tipiloura B, Wilson J, Johnson L, Tipungwuti J, Orsto E, Puruntatameri J and McKaige B. 2014. Tiwi Plants and Animals, Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia. CSIRO Land and Water, Darwin.

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Tiwi seasons and plants and animals calendars

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Traditional Owners from the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin in the Northern Territory, worked with CSIRO to create two calendars representing Tiwi seasonal ecological knowledge. Traditional Owners from the Tiwi Islands and the Tiwi Land Council collaborated with CSIRO to develop two calendars: a calendar of Tiwi seasonal ecological knowledge; and a calendar of plants and animals of Tiwi significance.

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Narragunnawali

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A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a formal commitment to reconciliation. It documents how your school or early learning service will strengthen relationships, respect and opportunities in the classroom, around the school/service and with the community.

Schools and early learning services can develop a RAP using the Narragunnawali platform to register and extend on existing initiatives, or to begin their reconciliation journeys. See the film and resources below to learn more about developing a RAP.

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A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a formal statement of commitment to reconciliation. A school or early learning service can develop a RAP using the Narragunnawali platform to register existing initiatives or to begin a new journey.

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Reconciliation Australia

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Paul Girrawah House has multiple First Nation ancestries from the South-East Canberra region, including the Ngambri-Ngurmal (Walgalu), Pajong (Gundungurra), Wallabollooa (Ngunnawal) and Erambie/Brungle (Wiradyuri) family groups.

Paul acknowledges his diverse First Nation history, he particularly identifies as a descendant of Onyong aka Jindoomang from Weereewaa (Lake George) and Henry 'Black Harry' Williams from Namadgi who were both multilingual, essentially Walgalu-Ngunnawal-Wiradjuri speaking warriors and Ngunnawal-Wallaballooa man William Lane aka 'Billy the Bull' - Murrjinille.

Paul was born at the old Canberra hospital in the centre of his ancestral country and strongly acknowledges his First Nation matriarch ancestors, in particular his mother Dr Aunty Matilda House-Williams and grandmother, Ms Pearl Simpson-Wedge.

Paul completed a Bachelor of Community Management from Macquarie University, and Graduate Certificate in Wiradjuri Language, Culture and Heritage and Management from CSU.

Paul provided the Welcome to Country for the 47th Opening of Federal Parliament in 2022. Paul is Board Director, Ngambri Local Aboriginal Land Council, Member Indigenous Reference Group, National Museum of Australia and Australian Government Voice Referendum Engagement Group.

Paul works on country with the ANU, First Nations Portfolio as a Senior Community Engagement Officer

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Reconciliation Australia's vision is for a just, equitable and reconciled Australia.

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Explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Australia

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Explore Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Australia

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AIATSIS

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AIATSIS acknowledges all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Custodians of Country and recognises their continuing connection to land, sea, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.

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We are Australia's only national institution focused exclusively on the diverse history, cultures and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia.

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Welcome to NAIDOC.

We acknowledge all First Peoples of the beautiful lands on which we live and celebrate their enduring knowledge and connections to Country. We honour the wisdom of and pay respect to Elders past and present.

Continue

National NAIDOC Week 2023

The National NAIDOC Committee has announced NAIDOC Week celebrations will be held from 2 - 9 July 2023.
Read more

Local Events

NAIDOC Logos

NAIDOC Awards Ceremony

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Welcome to NAIDOC. We acknowledge all First Peoples of the beautiful lands on which we live and celebrate their enduring knowledge and connections to Country. We honour the wisdom of and pay respect to Elders past and present. Continue The National NAIDOC Committee has announced NAIDOC Week celebrations will be held from 2 - 9 July 2023.

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8 Days in Kamay
State Library Exhibition - online

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On 29 April 1770, the Gweagal people of Kamay (Botany Bay) discovered James Cook and his crew as they sailed into the bay and came ashore. The eight days that followed changed the course of Australia's history. 250 years later the events of those eight days and their continuing impact are still being debated, contested, felt.

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Connecting Aboriginal communities with collections and stories from the State Library of NSW

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Special Care Notice

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are kindly advised that this website includes images, sounds and names of people who have passed. Please also be aware that this online space contains images of people who have not yet been identified and some images may contain nudity. Some topics or historical content may be culturally sensitive, offensive or distressing.

Please contact us if you have any corrections or additional information related to the material on this website.
See collections >

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are kindly advised that this website includes images, sounds and names of people who have passed. Please also be aware that this online space contains images of people who have not yet been identified and some images may contain nudity.

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Inspiring First Nations women who have changed Australia.

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Inspiring First Nations women who have changed Australia.

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Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders should exercise caution when viewing this article as it contains names of deceased persons and this may cause distress to members of these communities.
1. Truganini (1812-1876)

Truganini was a defiant, strong and enduring individual even to her last breath. She is a symbol of the survival of the Tasmanian Aboriginals and her life epitomises the story of European invasion.

As a young girl, she was taught her culture but when Aboriginal life was disrupted by European invasion this changed her forever. Despite witnessing the most horrific crimes against humanity, Truganini believed the only way to fight against white invaders was to learn their ways in order to gain empathy.

2. Gladys Elphick (1904-1988)

As a strong advocate for Indigenous women and non-Indigenous women alike, Gladys Elphick has helped every woman take up the fight for equality and justice.

Gladys is known as the founding member of the Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia, which worked for the rights of Indigenous women. In 1984, she was named South Australian Aboriginal of the Year. In 2003 the Aboriginal women's group advising the International Women's Day Committee (South Australia) presented the inaugural Gladys Elphick award.

3. Fanny Cochrane Smith (1834-1905)

Cultural advocate Fanny Cochran played a vital role to ensure Tasmanian language and culture was practiced and maintained even today as she was the first Indigenous person whose stories and songs would be recorded.

As a result the recording, which included traditional stories and songs of her people, lived on into the future. As a girl she had been taught her cultural ways and when the British invasion occurred she witnessed the most brutal atrocities against her people.

4. Joyce Clague (1938)

Joyce Clague is one of the most influential female political activists in Australia and has spent her life creating social change for Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander people. Joyce was a strong advocate for Indigenous welfare and helped instigate the 1967 Constitutional Referendum. She fought against the inequalities experienced by Indigenous Australia as the convener of the 1969 Federation Council for Advancement of Aborigines (FCAATSI).

She was appointed a representative of the World Churches Commission to Combat Racism.

5. Kirstie Parker

Kirstie Parker understands the key issues that black women face in Australia today. Ms Parker is co-chair of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, which plays a prominent role in influencing government on the policies that affect Indigenous Australians.

She is also co-chair of the Close the Gap Campaign, aimed at achieving equality in health outcomes and life expectancy for Indigenous Australians, and a Board Member of Reconciliation Australia.

In her early years, Ms Parker was a journalist and editor for the Koori Mail. The Koori Mail stimulated national discussions and debates on the social, political and economic issues that impact Indigenous Australians.

6. Shirley Colleen Smith (1924-1998)

Prominent activist and mum, Shirley Colleen Smith (Mum Shirl) was known by everyone in the Redfern, a suburb of Sydney. She was a founding member of many valued services for the Indigenous community including the Aboriginal Legal Service, Aboriginal Housing Company, Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the Aboriginal Children's Service, Aboriginal Medical Service.

These services still play a vital role in the livelihood and welfare of Indigenous people in the New South Wales region and have influenced other Indigenous communities to establish similar services around the country.

7. Evelyn Scott (1936)

Educator and social activist Evelyn Scott's journey began in the Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advancement League in the 1960s. It culminated in her chairmanship of the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in the late 1990s.

Evelyn Scott, a solid believer that education is key to social change, was greatly involved in campaigning at the 1967 Constitutional Referendum that resulted in the inclusion of Indigenous people in the national census and gave the Australian Government the ability to create laws for Indigenous Australians.

8. Dr Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher (1937-2011)

Dr Thancoupie is one of Australia's most esteemed artists. She was a potter who used her skill to change people's perceptions about how traditional art can be portrayed in modern life, which has fueled discussion around Indigenous contemporary and traditional art.

Thancoupie joined the civil rights movement in Sydney in the 1970s and attended Tent Embassy protests in Canberra. Her legacy lives on through her art which can be found in arts institutions around the world.

9. Faith Thomas (1933)

Faith Thomas was the first Aboriginal woman to play international cricket for Australia and as such, was the first Indigenous woman to be selected to play any sport for Australia. In 2004, she was still the only Aboriginal woman to represent Australia in cricket. Faith was also one of the first Aboriginal nurses to graduate from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in south Australia and went on to be the first to run a hospital.

Faith was a compassionate sporting legend who was instrumental in breaking down the stereotypes of what Indigenous women can and can't do in Australia, through her membership with the Aboriginal Sports Foundation.

10. Rosalie Kunoth-Monks (1937)

Rosalie Kunoth-Monks is one of the country's most renowned Indigenous actors. She played the role as Jeddain the 1955 Australian classic film and led the way for other Indigenous female actors to follow. Her acting led to changing the stereotypes of Indigenous women that had been grossly perpetuated in media.

She is now a well-known and outspoken advocate for Indigenous people. She was a leading campaigner against the building of a dam that posed a threat to sacred land in the Northern Territory. In 2014, Rosalie was awarded the Northern Territory Australia of the Year and in an appearance as a panel member on ABC's Q&A current affairs show, she wowed Australian audiences with her passionate speech about the government's denial of Indigenous issues.

11. Nova Peris (1971)

Olympian-turned-politician Nova Peris is a strong black women who know no bounds and has set a benchmark for all women to follow. As part of the Australian women's hockey team at the 1996 Olympic Games, she was the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. She later switched to athletics and contested the 1998 Commonwealth Games and 2000 Olympic Games.

In 2012, Nova Peris would be remembered forever when she became the first ever Indigenous women to be elected to Parliament. Since in office, Nova Peris has been a victim of racial hatred and has made various statements urging the public to stop the racism.

12. The Hon. Linda Burney, MP (1957)

Linda Burney has paved the way for women to take leading roles in their communities. On 26 January 1988, Ms Burney marched alone side of her fellow community members at La Perouse in protest over the Australian Day celebrations.

Linda Burney is the first Aboriginal person to enter the New South Wales Parliament. She was the Australian Labor Party National President through 2008-2009.

Linda plays an influential role in policy decisions that impact on Aboriginal people. Even though she has a very busy schedule in politics, Linda can still find the time and energy to marchfor rights and equality for various sectors of society.

13. Patricia June "Pat" O'Shane (1941)

Retired NSW Magistrate Pat O'Shane played a major role in determining how the court system would impact the lives of Indigenous peoples going through the court system. Pat O'Shane was a former head of the New South Wales Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and in 1986, O'Shane was appointed a magistrate. From 1994-2003, she was Chancellor of the University of New England and by 2013, she was handed a Deadly Award at "The Deadlys" - an annual awards night that celebrates Indigenous Australian achievement - for lifetime achievement in leadership.

14. Eleanor Harding (1934-1996)

Equal rights and education campaigner Eleanor Harding was a respected community figure who poured her energy into achieving a better deal for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She was especially passionate about women's issues and education.

Eleanor was a member of the Aborigines Advancement League and the Victorian branch of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) in the 1960s. During this time she worked on a national campaign to ensure equal rights for Indigenous Australians. She is also known for her work in pushing for improving Indigenous Australians rights through constitutional change. The 1967 Referendum on the Constitution ensued.

As an executive member of the National Aboriginal and Islander Women's Council, Eleanor was part of women's rights advocacy group that protested against the Bicentennial celebrations in 1970 in Sydney and the women's contingent that travelled to Canberra in support of the 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy protest.

15. Essie Coffey - the Bush Queen (1942- 1998)

Rights campaigner Essie Coffey was committed to improving Aboriginal rights and equality. Throughout the '60s and '70s, Essie worked in the health and legal service fields and went on to be appointed to the NSW Lands Trust and the NSW Advisory Council and was a prominent figure in the Aboriginal Movement in Brewarrina. In her later years, Mrs Coffey was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1985.

16. Faith Bandler, AC (1918-2015)

Faith Bandler played an important role in establishing the civil rights movement in Australia and dedicated her life to equality and fairness for Indigenous Australians. Faith Bandler, AC, was a remarkable woman who was passionate in campaigning for the rights of Indigenous Australians and South Sea Islanders.

Bandler was best known for her leadership in the campaign for the 1967 Constitutional referendum on Aboriginal Australians.

17. Pearl Gibbs (1901-1983)

Pearl Gibbs was one of the most prominent female Indigenous female activists within the Aboriginal movement in the early 20th century. As a member of the Aborigines Progressive Association, she was involved with various protest events such as the 1938 Day of Mourning.

She played a vital role in ensuring that women were represented in the struggle for equality and injustices.

18. Rachel Perkins

Rachel Perkins has dedicated her life to ensuring that the truth of Indigenous Australia is told from an Indigenous prospective just as her father Charlie Perkins had done. Rachel is known for her thought-provoking works such as Radiance (1998), First Contact, First Australians, Mabo and Redfern Now. The impact Rachel's films have on the Australian culture is massive and her influence on the industry has brought about cultural diversity and led the way for other Indigenous filmmakers to follow.

19. Megan Davis

Professor Megan Davis is the first Indigenous woman in the world to work for the UN where she is an international lawyer and an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Professor Davis also works at the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of New South Wales, specialising in the field of public law, public International law and human rights. She focuses her work on preventing violence against Indigenous women.

20. Dr Anita Heiss

Writer and education advocate Dr Anita Heiss is an Aboriginal woman working to break down the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia.

Anita is one of the country's most well-known Indigenous writers who works to enhance her readers' understanding of Aboriginality in Australia. Anita is also a force behind the publication of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature, which was a snapshot of 200 years of Indigenous literature. Anita is a strong advocate for Indigenous education and works to ensure that Indigenous literature is written and produced by Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander writers and companies.
nternational Women's Day is on 8 March. Commemorate the achievements and contributions of women with NITV.

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20 inspiring black women who have changed Australia

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Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders should exercise caution when viewing this article as it contains names of deceased persons and this may cause distress to members of these communities. Truganini was a defiant, strong and enduring individual even to her last breath.

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Virtual Dreaming: Everyday life of the Darug people

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Virtual Dreaming: Everyday life of the Darug people

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Western Sydney University

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Virtual Dreaming: Everyday Life of the Darug People

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SBS

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State Library of Queensland

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State Library of Queensland

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Learning about Aboriginal Kinship systems
University of Sydney

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Aboriginal Australians were multicultural long before European settlers came to Australia. Traditionally, there were more than 500 different Aboriginal Nations across Australia with different languages, social structures and modes of behaviour, but also with many common denominators - specifically religious ties and Kinship systems.

This module will help you to gain a better understanding of:

Aboriginal Kinship systems and how they operate

Aboriginal social structures and how these are different to Western societies

potential conflict in working with people from differing cultural backgrounds

how cultural difference impacts upon Aboriginal people in the social systems which operate in Australia (through education, criminal justice systems and the legal system more broadly, etc.).

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This online module explores systems of social organisation that traditionally govern Aboriginal societies and how cultural differences impact Aboriginal people in Australia.

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AIATSIS

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'What was before Lord Vestey born and I born? It was blackfella country.' Vincent Lingiari (Wattie Creek 1966)

Australia's First Peoples have been living on the Australian continent for millenia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is made up of many different and distinct groups, each with their own culture, customs, language and laws. They are the world's oldest surviving culture; cultures that continue to be expressed in dynamic and contemporary ways.

The AIATSIS map serves as a visual reminder of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. It was created in 1996 as part of the Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia project and attempts to show language, social or nation groups based on published sources available up to 1994.

The map shows only the general locations of larger groups of people which may include smaller groups. There are also variations in the way that some language or group names are spelt. You can view some of these alternate spellings on the list of alternate spellings for names on the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia below.

Note that the borders between groups are purposefully represented as slightly blurred and are not meant to be exact. Some of the information shown on the map is contested and may not be agreed to by some traditional custodians - the map isn't suitable for native title or other land claims.

The map isn't the only source of information; if you would like more information about Australian Indigenous languages please see our Austlang database. The National Native Title Tribunal also produces maps that show native title claims determinations.

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The AIATSIS map serves as a visual reminder of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia.

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University of Melbourne

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50 words project - Research Unit for Indigenous Language | Faculty of Arts

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50 words project page in the Research Unit for Indigenous Language site.

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University of Melbourne

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Indigenous Knowledge Resources for Australian School Curricula Project

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Curricula Project is a University of Melbourne initiative which aims to empower all teachers to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in their teaching using these curriculum resources that incorporate Indigenous knowledge.

The project is a partnership between the Indigenous Studies Unit (Centre for Health Equity, MDHS), the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and the Indigenous Knowledge Institute.

Browse/ search by learning area

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The development of these resources was funded through an Australian Government initiative delivered by the University of Melbourne's Indigenous Studies Unit. The resources include the views, opinions and representations of third parties, and do not represent the views of the Australian Government. They have been developed as a proof of concept to progress the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in Australian classrooms. In drawing on the material, users should consider the relevance and suitability to their particular circumstances and purposes.
Project Team
Professor Marcia Langton AO Indigenous Studies Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Professor Marcia Langton AM is an anthropologist and geographer, and since 2000 has held the Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne. She has produced a large body of knowledge in the areas of political and legal anthropology, Indigenous agreements and engagement with the minerals industry, and Indigenous culture and art. Her role in the Empowered Communities project under contract to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and as a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians are evidence of Professor Langton's academic reputation, policy commitment and impact, alongside her role as a prominent public intellectual.
Professor Jim Watterston Dean, Melbourne Graduate School of Education
From his first job as a teacher in a rural Indigenous classroom in his home state of Western Australia to his appointment as the Dean of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne, Professor Jim Watterston brings more than 35 years of successful experience across a diverse range of educational roles and sectors. Jim spent his first ten years in the profession as a teacher before being promoted to the position of principal in a range of primary and secondary schools.

He then progressed to the role of Regional Director in WA and Victoria before he was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Victorian Education Department, and Director General of both the ACT and, most recently, Queensland Departments of Education and Training. Jim was awarded a Doctorate in Education at the University of WA in 2004.
Dr Kirsten Smith Indigenous Studies Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Dr Kristen Smith is a medical anthropologist in the Indigenous Studies Unit. Her interdisciplinary work traverses the fields of anthropology, epidemiology, human geography, public health and health promotion.
Tahlia Eastman Indigenous Studies Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Tahlia Eastman is a Research Fellow in the Indigenous Studies Unit with a background in Indigenous health policy. Tahlia has Palawa ancestry from the north-west coast of Tasmania. Tahlia is currently undertaking her PhD, focusing on the link between Aboriginal identity and youth mental health.
Dr Melitta Hogarth Melbourne Graduate School of Education
Melitta Hogarth is a Kamilaroi woman who is the Assistant Dean Indigenous and a Senior Lecturer in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. Prior to entering academia, Melitta taught for almost 20 years in all three sectors of the Queensland education system specifically in Secondary education.

Melitta's interests are in education, equity and social justice. Her PhD titled "Addressing the rights of Indigenous peoples in education: A critical analysis of Indigenous education policy" was awarded both the QUT and Faculty of Education Outstanding Thesis Awards and was awarded the Ray Debus Award for Doctoral Research in Education.
Dr Sophie Rudolph Melbourne Graduate School of Education
As a non-Indigenous Australian, I have had a long-standing interest in exploring issues of social justice, diversity and equity in education and, in particular, the impact that colonial history has on present day inequalities in Australia. These interests frame my teaching and research practices.

My research includes sociological and historical examinations of education and investigates issues of curriculum, pedagogy and politics in education, policy and practice. My work is informed by critical and post-structuralist theories and aims to offer opportunities for working towards social change.
Dr Katherine Coleman Melbourne Graduate School of Education
Kathryn Coleman is a feminist, artist, researcher and teacher who lives and works in Kulin Nation. Her work focuses on the integration of digital pedagogies and digital portfolios for sustained creative practice, assessment and warranting of evidence across education sectors.

Kate's praxis includes taking aspects of her theoretical and practical work as a/r/tographer to consider how artists, artist-teachers and artist-students use site to create place in digital and physical practice.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander School Curricula

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander School Curricula

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What is Indigenous Aboriginal Cultural Burning?

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What is Indigenous Aboriginal Cultural Burning?

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Koori Country Fire sticks

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What is Indigenous Aboriginal Cultural Burning?

What makes Aboriginal Cultural Burning different to Hazard Reduction Burning?

"...there is only one fire and that is the right fire and fire for your Country,... " (Victor Steffensen, 'Line of Fire' SBS Insight, 15 February 2016)

Indigenous (Aboriginal) Cultural Burning practices have been identified as a major influence in 'shaping' the Country that many European observers described upon their arrival in Australia.

The firesticks project uses the term 'cultural burning' to describe burning practices developed by Aboriginal people to enhance the health of the land and its people.

"For thousands of years, Aboriginal people have used fire to preserve and manage the landscape."

Cultural burning can include burning for the health of particular plants, animals and country. It may involve patch burning to create different fire intervals or used specifically for fuel and hazard reduction purposes. Fire may be used to gain better access to country, to clean up important pathways, control invasive weeds or to maintain cultural responsibilities.

Essentially, cultural burning involves applying fire to the bush in a controlled and methodical approach where the fire acts like water in trickling through the country. It moves slow and 'cool' and burns in a circular pattern away from single ignition points.

"A cool fire preserves the canopy of trees that provide shade, fruit, flowers, and seeds. During the fire the insects and other small animals can crawl up the trees to safety, while ants and snakes can retreat down into their nests"

Flame height is maintained at ground level and the canopy of native shrub and trees remain unaffected by the relatively low heat of such fire.

In contrast Hazard reduction burns are generally performed as large scale operations that involve lighting up long lines of fire ignited by drip torches that create a virtual wave of heat that roars through the bush. These burns are designed to reduce as much available fuel as possible to protect life and property from wildfire.

However, hazard reduction burns are not always conducive with the ecological values of the bushland.

Follow the links to find out more about our upcoming Events & Workshops or contact us about how we can help manage your property using cultural burning knowledge and practices.

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indigenous aboriginal knowledge and practices

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What is Indigenous Aboriginal Cultural Burning?

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What is Indigenous Aboriginal Cultural Burning? "...there is only one fire and that is the right fire and fire for your Country,... " (Victor Steffensen, 'Line of Fire' SBS Insight, 15 February 2016) Indigenous (Aboriginal) Cultural Burning practices have been identified as a major influence in 'shaping' the Country that many European observers described upon their arrival in Australia.

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Traditional Aboriginal burning in modern day land management

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Traditional Aboriginal burning in modern day land management

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Landcare Australia

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Indigenous communities used fire across Australia, and in some areas this created expansive grassland on good soils that in turn encouraged kangaroos to come and were later hunted for food. Historians and researchers believe selecting what areas to burn, when, and how often, was part of Indigenous knowledge of the land. The result was a mosaic of trees and grasslands that meant the highly combustible Eucalyptus forests were not likely to create intense bushfires.

With the arrival of Europeans, much of this practice has given way as fire became feared rather than harnessed as a tool to manage the scrub. The result was the grass plains gave way to thick scrub and bushland that was prone to intense bushfires.

Australian National University professor Bill Gammage, an expert of traditional Aboriginal burning, told Landcare in Focus the use of fire could be adopted across the country and used for a variety of land management problems.

"Fire can be used for one of three outcomes. The first, to encourage native grasses to regenerate and produce new feed, the second to reduce scrub and fuel to prevent intense bushfires, and thirdly to promote biodiversity," Bill said.

It is already in extensive use across the country, but particularly in the north where native grasses grow more vigorously in summer and need to be controlled, and where Indigenous communities actively manage the land.

"On public land, national parks and public reserves and larger pastoral land it could be applied very effectively," Bill explained.

"Aboriginal people would apply it to very small areas if necessary, like back burning along creek front or pushing back bush in grassland," says Bill Gammage.

The adoption of traditional Aboriginal burning requires a sound understanding of local conditions to ensure it is effective and safe.

"Local conditions, climate, plants, and animals, all matter and have to be taken into consideration," Bill explained when considering the fire stick farming.

He also said land managers need to understand how plants relate to fire and that this was local knowledge.

The type and timing of fire was dependent on the season and location. This was important, particularly in the north where grasses dry out and a fire would be uncontrollable. Bill said fire was used at a time following the wet season while the grasses and soil was still damp.

Across Australia there are a number of groups that work with farmers and Indigenous people and encourage them to work together to share knowledge and manage the land. Some of these groups include Local Land Management, the Aboriginal Land Management Councils, and Landcare groups.

These groups encourage farmers and Indigenous people to work together to adopt land management practices closer to those used by Australia's first inhabitants. While the use of fire is not the only tool, it is one the Indigenous community can share.

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Traditional Aboriginal burning in modern day land management - Landcare Australia

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By Christopher Gillies For over 50,000 years,...

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State Library NSW

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This mysterious portrait of an unknown, handsome young Aboriginal man is believed to have belonged to Governor Lachlan Macquarie, described as 'One of the NSW Aborigines befriended by Governor Macquarie'. Part of the 10 Works in Focus series.

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This mysterious portrait of an unknown, handsome young Aboriginal man is believed to have belonged to Governor Lachlan Macquarie, described as 'One of the NSW Aborigines befriended by Governor Macquarie'. Part of the 10 Works in Focus series.

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CSIRO

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Indigenous knowledge and environmental management - CSIRO

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems and approaches to land and sea management.

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Central Land Council

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The kinship system is a feature of Aboriginal social organisation and family relationships across Central Australia. It is a complex system that determines how people relate to each other and their roles, responsibilities and obligations in relation to one another, ceremonial business and land. The kinship system determines who marries who, ceremonial relationships, funeral roles and behaviour patterns with other kin.

Today there are increasing numbers of 'wrong skin' marriages, in which people who would traditionally be prevented from marrying become partners. A result is that families are attempting to accommodate the contradictions that this presents for the kinship system. However, there are some rules which are adhered to, in particular certain 'avoidance relationships', especially that between a mother-in-law and a son-in-law. This relationship requires a social distance, such that they may not be able to be in the same room or car. Be sensitive to the signals that alert one to this situation, for example being told that there is 'no room' in a car or a building when there appears to be sufficient 'space'.

Aspects of this system of social organisation differ between regions. This is seen in the so-called 'skin system', a method of subdividing the society into named categories which are related to one another through the kinship system.

A moiety system (i.e. division into two groups: 'sun side' and 'shade side') exists across the region. Most language groups also use a section or subsection system with four to eight 'skin names'. An individual gains a 'skin name' upon birth based on the skin names of his or her parents, to indicate the section/subsection that he/she belongs to.

Alternatively, the Pitjantjatjara, for example, are classified into moiety groups - ngana nt arka (lit. we-bone) 'our side', and tjanamilytjan (lit. they flesh) 'their side' (Goddard 1996) - but don't use skin names.

You will notice in the chart below that the same skin names are spelled differently across different languages and dialects, eg. Warlpiri, Warumungu, Pintupi-Luritja and Pintupi.

This is simply because different symbols have been used in the different languages for writing particular sounds. So the spellings for skin names varies according to the region. If you are writing skin names, try to use the standardised spellings for the area concerned.

Notice that the skin names starting with the letter J (in Warlpiri) or Tj (in Western Desert dialects) denote males, and those starting with N denote females. These skin names can be used as personal identifiers like a first name in English. Skin names can also be used to refer to someone who is absent and whose identity is understood by the context.

Aboriginal people may have a number of names. For example, a person may have a European first name and surname, a bush name, a skin name and maybe even a nickname. Personal names are used less than by English speakers and people are often referred to indirectly or by reference to their skin names, for example 'that Nangala' (see Turpin 2000). In some community institutions such as clinics, skin names have been used in a manner similar to a surname. This can be a source of confusion if a range of ad hoc spellings is used.

If you want advice on these matters, then get the help of a local speaker who is literate, or a linguist or someone else who has made an effort to learn about these things.

Early contact relationships with non-Aboriginal people were rather uncomfortable for Aboriginal people since it was unheard of for a person not to be 'something' (i.e. not to have a skin classification).

Thus the practice emerged of non-Aboriginal being given skin names. Some non-Aboriginal people have mistakenly believed that this is a sign of acceptance by the people. It is truer to say that it is a mechanism Aboriginal people have employed to make their dealings with non-Aboriginal more comfortable for themselves, even though non-Aboriginal, through their ignorance, continually give offence under this system.

More recently, people have generally come to understand that non-Aboriginal have 'nothing' and are regarded as 'free' from any kinship commitments of the kind that govern Aboriginal society. (Heffernan and Heffernan 1999:160)

Prepared by Inge Kral (2002) from Henderson and Dobson 1994:43; Heffernan and Heffernan 1999:159; Turpin 2000:121; Lizzie Ellis pers.comm.) 1 The male and female terms are mainly applied to children

( Part of a chart prepared by Rebecca Green, NT DEET linguist)

Media coverage

Arrernte country singer Warren H Williams questions skin names given to non-Indigenous people

References

* Breen, G. (2000) Introductory Dictionary of Western Arrernte . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Collins B. (1999) Learning Lessons: an independent review of Indigenous education in the Northern Territory . Darwin : NT Department of Education.
* Goddard, C. (1996) Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara to English Dictionary . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Green, J.(1984) A Learner's Guide to Eastern and Central Arrernte . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Hale, K. (1995) An Elementary Warlpiri Dictionary . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Hansen, K.C. and L.E. (1992, 3 rd Ed.) Pintupi/Luritja Dictionary . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Heffernan, J. and Heffernan, K. (1999) A Learner's Guide to Pintupi-Luritja . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Henderson, J. and Dobson, V. (1994) Eastern and Central Arrernte to English Dictionary. Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Hoogenraad, R. (2001) 'Critical reflections on the history of bilingual education in Central Australia '. In J. Simpson, D. Nash, M. Laughren, P. Austin and B. Alpher (Eds) Forty years on: Ken Hale and Australian Languages . Canberra : Pacific Linguistics.
* Hoogenraad, R. (2000) The history of Warlpiri education and literacy in the context of English and alphabetic writing. Unpublished manuscript.
* Hoogenraad, R. (1997) On writing and pronouncing Central Australian Aboriginal Languages. Unpublished manuscript.
* Hoogenraad, R and Thornley, B (2003) The jukurrpa pocket book of Aboriginal Languages of Central Australia and the places where they are spoken. IAD Press, Alice Springs
* IAD Language Map (2002), Alice Springs
* Kral, I. (2002) An Introduction to Indigenous Languages and Literacy in Central Australia Alice Springs: Central Australian Remote Health Development Services (CARHDS)
* Laughren, M., Hoogenraad, R., Hale, K., Granites, R.J. (1996) A Learner's Guide to Warlpiri . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Nathan, P. and Leichleitner Japanangka, D. (1983) Settle Down Country - Pmere Arlaltyewele. CAAC: Kibble Books.
* Papunya School (2001) Papunya School Book of Country and History . Sydney : Allen and Unwin.
* Richardson, Nicholas (2001) Public Schooling in the Sandover River Region of Central Australia during the Twentieth Century - A critical historical survey. Unpublished Masters Thesis - Flinders University of South Australia .
* Turpin, M (2000) A Learner's Guide to Kaytetye . Alice Springs : IAD Press.
* Yuendumu School Staff (2002) Yuendumu Two-Way Learning Policy 2002.

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The kinship system is a feature of Aboriginal social organisation and family relationships across Central Australia. It is a complex system that determines how people relate to each other and their roles, responsibilities and obligations in relation to one another, ceremonial business and land.

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Watarrka Foundation

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ABC - News is Science

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Aboriginal people built water tunnels

Indigenous Australians dug underground water reservoirs that helped them live on one of the world's driest continents for tens of thousands of years, new research shows.

The study, which is the first of its kind, indicates Aboriginal people had extensive knowledge of the groundwater system, says hydrogeologist Brad Moggridge, knowledge that is still held today.

Some 70% of the continent is covered by desert or semi-arid land, which meant its original inhabitants needed to know how to find and manage this resource if they were to survive.

"Aboriginal people survived on one of the driest continents for thousands and thousands of years," says Brad Moggridge, who is from Kamilaroi country in northern New South Wales.

"Without water you die. They managed that water sustainably."

Moggridge, currently a principal policy officer in the New South Wales Department of Environment and Conservation, did his research as part of a Masters degree at the University of Technology, Sydney.

He based his work on oral histories, Dreamtime stories, rock art, artefacts and ceremonial body painting as well as written accounts by white missionaries, surveyors, settlers, anthropologists and explorers.

Managing scant resources
Moggridge says Indigenous Australians channelled and filtered their water, covering it to avoid contamination and evaporation. They also created wells and tunnel reservoirs.

"Groundwater was accessed through natural springs or people used to dig tunnels to access it," he says.

"Sometimes they'd dig till they found the water and then they'd build a system so they could access the water. Sometimes they've go fairly deep and people would slither down there and get their water."

Aboriginal people also used terrain, birdlife, vegetation and animals as markers for water, Moggridge says.

For example, they followed dingos to rock pools and waterholes while ants led them to subterranean reservoirs.

"They used the landscape," he says. "For example, you're in a dry area and all of a sudden there's a large number of ghost gums, so you'd think there must be some groundwater."

The Dreamtime
Aboriginal people's understanding of their groundwater system permeates Dreamtime stories, Moggridge says.

For example, the rainbow serpent is a key symbol of creation but its journey from underground to the surface also represents groundwater rising to the top via springs.

Moggridge says European settlers owed their subsequent knowledge of groundwater to local tribes and trackers, and even much of Australia's modern road system is based on water sources identified by the original inhabitants.

"A lot of the old roads in New South Wales are based on Aboriginal walking tracks ... and their water supply would have been along the way," he says.

The Desert Knowledge CRC is also trying to link traditional knowledge with science in terms of water management in central Australia, home to numerous remote Indigenous communities.

Current projects include looking at the cultural values of water, a spokesperson says.

Related Stories

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Indigenous Australians dug underground water reservoirs that helped them live on one of the world's driest continents for tens of thousands of years, new research shows. The study, which is the first of its kind, indicates Aboriginal people had extensive knowledge of the groundwater system, says hydrogeologist Brad Moggridge, knowledge that is still held today.

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Aboriginal Art & Culture

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Aboriginal Music Instruments

Different tribes used various instruments including boomerangs, clubs, sticks, hollow logs, drums, seed rattles and of course the didgeridoo. Hand clapping and lap/thigh slapping were common. Decorated drums were made from hollow logs and some covered with reptile skins. Large conch shells were used in the northern coastal areas. The best known of all Aboriginal musical instruments was the didgeridoo and we explore this instrument in depth in another section.

Over a large area of Australia, Aboriginal music has consisted (in many places still consists), a group singing accompanied by different kinds of idiophonic percussion. In north Queensland (area '') accompaniments may consist of hand clapping only; for songs of intrusive types, such as 'island style' songs, a skin drum may be added.
On Bathurst and Melville Islands, off the north-west coast of area '', songs types of different kinds are accompanied by hand clapping, buttocks-slapping, or by paired sticks. In a small area of Western Australia (north area '' and south of area '') one type of non-dance song (Djabi or Taabi) is accompanied by a scraped idiophone, or rasp. North of the Northern Territory, in area '', where is considerable diversity in song types and sound instruments, some songs are accompanied only by stick percussion (either paired hand sticks or paired boomerang clapsticks, depending on content and ceremonial association), others are performed by voice, sticks and didjeridu.

According to information obtained from written sources and available audio-recordings, there are about thirty Australian sound instruments, or agents for producing different sounds. About 75 per cent of these occur above 20 latitude and above a line joining Broome, southwest of '', to Ingham, southeast of '. About 50 per cent occur below this line. No attempt has been made as yet to reconstruct a relative chronology for Australian Aboriginal sound instruments; nor for the song types with which particular instruments are formally integrated.

Patterns of geographical distribution at least offer a starting point. Didjeridu-accompanied songs stand out clearly against a background of songs accompanied only by percussion; and the musical participation of a aerophone, within an ensemble where voice and percussion are paramount, would seem to be evidence enough for its 'superimposition', or intrusion into an older musical situation already widely established.

Distribution of Aboriginal Sound Instruments

* Bark or skin bundle beaten, or struck on ground (women)
* Bone or reed whistle
* Boomerang clapsticks
* Didgeridoo and sticks (beaten by singer)
* Folded leaf whistle
* Hand clapping
* Hollow log struck with small stick
* Llpirra or Central Australian "trumpet"
* Lap slapping (women)
* Rasp or friction
* Seed rattles
* Single head skin drum (struck with open palm or stick)
* Stick beaten on ground
* Sticks only
* Thigh slapping (men)

Related Topics:

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Aboriginal Sound Instruments - Aboriginal Australian Art & Culture

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Different tribes used various instruments including boomerangs, clubs, sticks, hollow logs, drums, seed rattles and of course the didgeridoo. Hand clapping and lap/thigh slapping were common. Decorated drums were made from hollow logs and some covered with reptile skins. Large conch shells were used in the northern coastal areas.

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The Guardian

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ffectively what you're looking at is a big pot." Clarence Slockee and Christian Hampson are showing us around the Yerrabingin Indigenous rooftop farm, the 500-square-metre garden they have created on the rooftop of a Mirvac office block, smack bang in the middle of Sydney's Eveleigh industrial park. It's the first of its kind in Australia but they hope not the last.

The 2,000 native plants in the garden have flourished in the eight weeks since they were first planted. Warrigal greens, ruby and seaberry saltbush, river mint, finger lime, native raspberries, lilly pilly, grevillea and thyme honey-myrtle are among the 30 different types of bush foods enjoying the sunshine four storeys up.

It's a project Slockee and Hampson, the co-founders of Indigenous start-up Yerrabingin, have been working on for more than a year in collaboration with Mirvac. The two friends went back to university together to do their business degrees and founded their start-up as a side hustle. They originally planned to do a cultural landscape garden for the precinct, but they were asked by Mirvac to consider a rooftop farm.

The first Indigenous rooftop farm on top of the Mirvac building in Eveleigh, NSW. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

Urban agriculture is a growing trend around the world, with rooftop farms such as New York's Brooklyn Grange supplying produce for the local community. There are city farms in Sydney and a large rooftop farm on top of Melbourne shopping centre Burwood Brickworks opening soon, but this is the first time there's been a space dedicated to bush foods.

But there were some unusual factors for Slockee and Hampson to consider when it came to planting a rooftop farm. For example, drainage needed extra thought to avoid the weight of extra water. That means free draining soil and plants that require as little irrigation as possible. And in this garden, there are drainage cells hidden under the soil to catch and hold rainwater, with any excess drained off the side of the building.

Plants were selected with extra care. Yerrabingin permaculturist Matt McKay explains they chose bush foods that thrive in harsh conditions, in high sun and wind, given their elevated position. Some aren't usually grown in Sydney like saltbush and muntries ( Kunzea pomifera), which are normally grown in Victoria and South Australia. "I know native nurseries that can't even keep [muntries] alive there because the humidity just gets to it," he says. "[But] all of the succulents and the Warrigal greens, these species that are really suited to these conditions are thriving, because these are their [ideal] conditions."

Many of the bush foods were chosen because they would thrive in harsh conditions such as high sun and wind. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

The design of the garden was carefully considered. Given trees were an impossibility, there are iron tree trellises inspired by Singapore's famous Gardens by the Bay's supertrees and created by the local blacksmith to help to attract local birds and wildlife. There are also small greenhouses for propagating plants. And, Slockee says, "everything that you can see around the edges is edible, medicinal or cultural. The circular beds themselves are pollinator beacons, so we get pollinators in to do their thing with all the flowers."

Much of the farm produce will go to local chefs and restaurateurs, who will be encouraged to forage in the garden. It will also be open to the community and Slockee and Hampson hope it will inspire the locals to grow plants in whatever space they have available.

But this garden is more than just a green space. There will be sustainability workshops on topics like native permaculture design, pickling and preserving produce, making beeswax wraps and introduction to bush foods in the garden, while Slockee and Hampsonare will also work with local schools on their environmental and science projects.

They also plan to use it as a Indigenous cultural space for music and dance performances, and traditional workshop practices like weaving and tool making demonstrations. There will also be open days and opportunities for volunteers to work in the garden. "As a farm, it's not a commercially viable entity because it's so small but as an educational resource and as a prototype for what can be done in this sort of space, it's really quite invaluable," Stockee says. They also hope to inspire other real estate developers to consider these type of projects in their residential and commercial developments

There are broader possibilities for the site for Indigenous communities, Hampson says. "Aboriginal people across New South Wales own land through land councils and a huge part of it is [being] environmentally sensitive. They've been given bits of land that essentially other people don't want. Now the great thing is by looking at what we're doing, they can create environmental sensitivity and viability in the same breath by bringing back plants that they would have had traditionally for food and utilise them because there is now starting to be a market." The market for bush food is growing rapidly but according to Hampson only 3% is supplied by Indigenous companies while 97% is supplied by non Indigenous companies.

He adds: "The idea of people understanding the origin and cultural knowledge of those foods [is important]. People, especially younger people, are very interested in their food origin and what better food origin than food that's got knowledge that's thousands of years old."

Warrigal greens growing in the Indigenous rooftop garden on top of the Mirvac building in Eveleigh, NSW, Australia. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

The farm is also a great example of Aboriginal environmental land management in practice. Hampson says: "Lots of people are starting to learn that Aboriginal people just didn't wander around in the bush and pick stuff off trees. There was a land management component too, whether it was sea management, river management and I think this is another great opportunity [to demonstrate that]."

Yerrabingin will employ Aboriginal horticulturists to manage the rest of the industrial park. "It's going to be the same as this, all organic, no chemicals used, eventually we want all the gardens across this landscape to be foragable to a certain extent, so [we can run] tourism walks."

And they'd also like their work on the farm to inspire and encourage other Indigenous entrepreneurs. "We want to be able to take what we've done and say 'Look if you've got good ideas and you can find good partners, don't be afraid to put your ideas out there'. It's a little bit about how you structure your approach, and more importantly you are using Indigenous social capital and networking to create these opportunities."

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'Edible, medicinal or cultural': first Indigenous rooftop farm opens in Sydney

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ffectively what you're looking at is a big pot." Clarence Slockee and Christian Hampson are showing us around the Yerrabingin Indigenous rooftop farm, the 500-square-metre garden they have created on the rooftop of a Mirvac office block, smack bang in the middle of Sydney's Eveleigh industrial park.

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Yerrabingin, Collaborative Design and Thinking

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Yerrabingin, Collaborative Design and Thinking

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Yerrabingin

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A guide to Bush Tucker, Australia's native foods

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A guide to Bush Tucker, Australia's native foods

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culture trip

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A Guide To Bush Tucker, Australia's Native Foods

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Discover how bush tucker (native food) in Australia can be utilised for many meals and drinks, from kangaroo meat to witchetty grubs and fungi.

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Australian food history timeline

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Prior to European settlement, Australia's indigenous people were primarily nomadic, moving from place to place to hunt and gather food. They had a deep understanding of the land, the seasons and the food sources. It is now recognised that they exerted considerable control over their environment, using methods including fire, taboos, grain harvesting and storage, fish and eel traps and some planting to ensure continuity of food supply.

Aboriginal people may have arrived on the Australian continent as early as 60,000 years ago. At that time, many species of megafauna still existed. There is some evidence that the arrival of humans caused or contributed to their extinction. Remains of these animals have been found close to aboriginal artifacts. Traces of blood and hair on the tools found match the megafauna species. The practice of "firestick farming" - the burning of the undergrowth - may also have contributed to the extinctions by reducing the available food for the large herbivores.

The aboriginal calendar defines the seasons according to the changing availability of fish, animal and food-plant resources. When the Europeans arrived, aboriginal food sources included kangaroos, wallabies, bandicoots, possums, lizards, other animals, and birds that were hunted with spears, boomerangs and stone axes. Firestick farming opened up pasture lands and encouraged new growth, attracting game animals and making them easier to capture.

Aboriginal people also collected yams and other plant roots, fruits, vegetables, seeds, leaves and honey. The cultivation of food crops was more widespread in the Torres Strait Islands, where bananas, taro, coconuts and yams were grown. However, there is evidence that, even where crops were not specifically planted, certain conservation measures were practised. For example, enough roots were left in the ground to produce new plants in the future. When eggs were gathered from nests, some were left behind.

In central Australia, witchetty grubs were commonly eaten. These are the larvae of several species of moth, found in the roots of certain shrubs and trees. In the alpine regions of New South Wales, aboriginal people would gather at certain times of the year to feast on Bogong Moths. The moths were ground to a paste between stones.

In other parts of Australia, Indigenous people constructed elaborate fish and eel traps in creeks and rivers. Fish were hunted with spears and nets. Middens along the ocean shorelines show that shellfish and crustaceans were also important aboriginal food sources.

Wild millet was the principal grain. It was a practice to harvest the grass while it was green and pile it in heaps to ripen. The heaps were then threshed to release the seeds. Early food technologies including grinding seeds to produce flour and processing poisonous cycad nuts either by leaching in running water or fermentation.

Because Australia's aboriginal people ate a wide variety of foods, they were not dependent on a single food source. Their nomadic lifestyle was well-adapted to the changing environment, allowing them to move to areas where new foods could be found. >State Library Victoria: Indigenous foods

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Aboriginal food sources - Australian food history timeline -

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Prior to European settlement, Australia's indigenous people were primarily nomadic, moving from place to place to hunt and gather food. They had a deep understanding of the land, the seasons and the food sources.

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Aboriginal Art & Culture

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Red Centre Dreaming - Traditional Aboriginal Music Site of Central Australia

We are a Southern Arrernte Aboriginal Tribal group whose homelands are situated 100 kms south of Alice Springs in Central Australia. Since 1995 we have owned and operated the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre in Alice Springs.

Our community has been involved in Aboriginal Music for 40,000 years and we would like to now share our knowledge and experience with you.

Music song and dance was and is still today a very important part of Aboriginal life and customs. We had songs for every occasion, hunting songs, funeral songs, gossip songs and songs of ancestors, landscapes, animals, seasons, myths and Dreamtime legends.

In This Section You Can Learn More About

Traditional Aboriginal Music

History of the Didgeridoo

How to Play the Didgeridoo

Related Topics:

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We are a Southern Arrernte Aboriginal Tribal group whose homelands are situated 100 kms south of Alice Springs in Central Australia. Since 1995 we have owned and operated the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre in Alice Springs. Our community has been involved in Aboriginal Music for 40,000 years and we would like to now share our knowledge and experience with you.

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Aboriginal Culture

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The nature of bush tucker (bush foods) varies throughout the country. In the well-watered coastal regions and tropical north of Australia, a large variety of plant and animal species provides ample food for consumption. In the arid interior, where there is less variety of species, Aboriginal people were still able to find enough nourishment for survival, occupying every part of the continent.

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Indigenous Australian recipes and Indigenous Australian food

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Indigenous Australian recipes and Indigenous Australian food

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SBS

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Before European settlers arrived in Australia, there was a thriving food culture, one that happily sustained the Australian Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. It's estimated there are up to 5,000 native food species (almost 20 per cent of Australia's native flora and fauna) that were utilised by the Australian Aboriginal people. Traditional bush tucker is innovative and unique: food sources extend from the swollen abdomens of honey ants to witchetty grubs; goanna to nectar-bearing flowers such as the bottlebrush.

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Before European settlers arrived in Australia, there was a thriving food culture, one that happily sustained the Australian Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. It's estimated there are up to 5,000 native food species (almost 20 per cent of Australia's native flora and fauna) that were utilised by the Australian Aboriginal people.

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To learn country, start by learning its Aboriginal names

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To learn country, start by learning its Aboriginal names

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ABC News

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To learn your country, start by learning its Aboriginal names

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Learning the Aboriginal meaning of place names will deepen our connection to the land we all live on, say Indigenous historians.

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ABC - Behind the News

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These guys are learning about the seasons. But not the ones you'd recognise.

Uncle Lewis: You've got to say it 3 times, Warltati.

KIDS: Warltati, Warltati, Warltati.

Uncle Lewis: Good, that's summer.

Uncle Lewis and Aunty Suzanne have paid these guys a visit to teach them all about the Kaurna seasons.

Aunty Suzanne: In the winter months we would move more towards the shelter and warmth. Now if it's stinkin' hot where we gonna go?

Instead of using dates to mark the change of a season they follow the cycle of plants, animals, water and the stars.

Uncle Lewis: We look at the stars we look at the plants, we look at the winds and so we look at all the indicators and that's how we follow what's going on.

With the help of the Bureau of Meteorology they've now created this Kaurna seasonal calendar to help other kids learn it too. There's Warltati which is summer when the sun is hot. Parnati, or autumn, when this star is near the moon. Winter is known as Kudlil which means "when the earth is washed". And spring, Wirltuti, that's when the eagle's foot or the southern cross is in this particular spot in the sky.

But while the Kaurna seasons are pretty similar to the ones we know there are hundreds of other Indigenous groups around the country that have very different ones to match their local weather patterns. For example, up north around the Tiwi islands there are 3 distinct seasonal changes. Jamutakari, the wet season, this begins when the Koels start to call and it means rain is on its way. Kumunupunari, the dry season of fire and smoke, when plants start to flower and possums are fat. And Tiyari, the season of hot weather and high humidity, when creeks start to dry up and mangrove worms are easy to find.

Meanwhile over in WA the Yawuru people have 6 different seasons. Mangala, when flies and insects are everywhere. Marrul, when the tides are high and sea animals are small. The flowering bloodwood indicates the start of Wirralburu. Barrgana, when fog covers the land. Birds start nesting during Wilburu and in Laja, the ground is hot and turtles are laying their eggs.

Back in the classroom these guys say that it's been pretty cool learning about Kaurna culture.

KID 1: Today I learnt that when the Kaurna people look up in the sky and they can tell by the stars what the season is.

KID 2: In summer they eat fish and in winter they eat other animals like possums

So, as we hit summer next month keep an eye out for some of the other signs that help show that a new season has sprung.

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We all know the names of the seasons; summer, autumn, winter and spring. But did you know Australia's Indigenous cultures had completely different seasons each designed around local weather conditions? We visited one school this week as they learned all about them.

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BOM

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D'harawal calendar

The D'harawal Country and language area extends from the southern shores of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to the northern shores of the Shoalhaven River, and from the eastern shores of the Wollondilly River system to the eastern seaboard.

Burran

Hot and dry
January-March

Male kangaroos aggressive
Meat forbidden
 Weetjellan blooming

Marrai'gang

Wet becoming cool
April-June

Quolls seeking mates
 Lillypilly ripens

Burrugin

Cold and frosty
June-July

Echidna seeking mates
Burringoa flowering
 Shellfish forbidden

Wiritjiribin

Cold and windy
July-August

Lyrebird building mounds
Marrai'uo flowering
Boo'kerrikin flowering
 Gentle spring rains

Ngoonungi

Cool becoming warm
September-October

Flying foxes appear
Ceremonial time
 Miwa Gawaian in flower

Parra'dowee

Warm and wet
November-December

Summer heat starts
 Stable weather

Permission to use the D'harawal seasonal calendar is granted by the D'harawal Traditional Knowledgeholders' and Descendents' Circle.

D'harawal seasons

Navigate back up to the calendar overview with the links at the end of each season.

Time of Burran
January-March
Gadalung Marool-hot and dry

Gymea lily by Mark Wilgar

The behaviour of the male kangaroos becomes quite aggressive in this season, and it is a sign that the eating of meat is forbidden during this time. This is a health factor; because of the heat of the day meat does not keep, and the likelihood of food poisoning is apparent.

The blooming of the Weetjellan ( Acacia implexa) is an important sign that fires must not be lit unless they are well away from bushland and on sand only, and that there will be violent storms and heavy rain, so camping near creeks and rivers is not recommended.
April-June
Time of Marrai'gang

Bana'murrai'yung-wet becoming cooler

The time of the year when the cries of the Marrai'gang (Quoll) seeking his mate can be heard through the forests and woodlands, and when the lilly pillys ripen on the trees.
June-late July
However, when the lilly pillys start to fall, it is time to mend the old warm cloaks from last cold season, or make new ones, and begin the yearly trek to the coastal areas.

Time of Burrugin

Echidna, Luke Shelley

Tugarah Tuli-cold, frosty, short days
August
This is the time when the male Burrugin (echidnas) form lines of up to ten as they follow the female through the woodlands in an effort to wear her down and mate with her. It is also the time when the Burringoa ( Eucalyptus tereticornis) starts to produce flowers, indicating that it is time to collect the nectar of certain plants for the ceremonies which will begin to take place during the next season.

It is also a warning not to eat shellfish again until the Boo'kerrikin blooms.

Time of Wiritjiribin
September-October
Tugarah Gunya'marri-cold and windy

The lyrebirds' calls ring out through the bushland as he builds his dancing mounds to attract his potential mates. It is the time of the flowering of the Marrai'uo ( Acacia floribunda) which is a sign that the fish are running in the rivers.

At the end of this time the Boo'kerrikin ( Acacia decurrens) flower, which indicates the end of the cold, windy weather, and the beginning of the gentle spring rains.
November-December
Time of Ngoonungi

Murrai'yunggory-cool, getting warmer

The time of the gathering of the flying foxes. A magical time of the year when the flying foxes gather in the darkening skies over D'harawal Lands. They come in from the north-east, the north, the north-west and the west, and swirl over the Sydney area in a wonderful, sky-dancing display just after sunset, before setting off for the night-time feeding grounds to the south.

But it is also a very important ceremonial time for the D'harawals, which begins with the appearance of the splashes of the bright red Miwa Gawaian ( Telopea speciosissima) in the bushland.

Time of Parra'dowee

Goray'murrai-Warm and wet

This season begins with the Great Eel Spirit calling his children to him, and the eels which are ready to mate make their way down the rivers and creeks to the ocean.

It is the time of the blooming of the Kai'arrewan ( Acacia binervia) which announces the occurrence of fish in the bays and estuaries.

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The D'harawal Country and language area extends from the southern shores of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to the northern shores of the Shoalhaven River, and from the eastern shores of the Wollondilly River system to the eastern seaboard.

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CSIRO

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We have worked with a number of Indigenous language groups to create a series of calendars representing their seasonal and ecological knowledge.

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Emu Dreaming

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Aboriginal astronomy: The Science of Mapping the sky and the seasons

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Aboriginal astronomy: The Science of Mapping the sky and the seasons

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SBS - NITV

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First Nations peoples have read skies for over 65,000 years, making them one of the world's first astronomers.

This ancient science has been passed down from generation to generation, woven into Dreamtime stories.

When Wiradjuri woman Kirsten Banks, an astrophysicist with the Sydney Observatory, began studying astronomy at university she soon realised how much knowledge was contained in those stories.

"Astronomy for our ancestors was very integral to their lives. We needed it for finding food, for learning law [and] knowing how to direct yourselves at night time," Ms Banks told The Point.

She's determined to validate Aboriginal astronomy as a legitimate science and has recently published research looking at the role of the planets in Aboriginal stories.

"We've actually found that you can navigate using the path of the planets in the sky because all the planets at the moment... appear to fall in a line called the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the sky," she said.

"There's Wardaman tradition saying that the planets are the elders, the spirits, that walk the path forwards and backwards: that's retrograde motion."

She is also studying how Aboriginal astronomy was used to guide what to eat and when.

"Our dark constellations come from within the Milky Way, so for example, my absolute favourite is Gugurmin the Celestial Emu," Ms Banks said.

"When we see this emu in the sky, it lets us know when is the right time to look for emu eggs based on what position it is in the sky. It's like a seasonal menu."

Bundjulung man and storyteller Drew Roberts says reading the stars helped his ancestors survive.

"I come from a saltwater nation, so that means that we don't actually eat fish predominantly from a river," he told The Point.

"So a certain tree will actually connect with a certain thing within the sky and tell me that the fish have actually come out of the river and gotten the black weed and the dirt out of them, so they no longer taste like mud."

Mr Roberts thinks Aboriginal astronomy can also be used to help the planet in the future.

"I was taught you are one grain of sand in the universe and you're meant to have as much impact as any other grain of sand - minimal, or what the Australian government like to call sustainability, but our cultures have been practicing that for generations upon generations."

"You only take what you need and Mother Nature will provide it for you when she is ready."
The Point airs Thursdays, 8.30pm on NITV (Ch. 34) or catch up at SBS On Demand. Join the conversation #ThePoint

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Aboriginal astronomy: The science of mapping the sky and the seasons

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First Nations peoples have read skies for over 65,000 years, making them one of the world's first astronomers. This ancient science has been passed down from generation to generation, woven into Dreamtime stories. When Wiradjuri woman Kirsten Banks, an astrophysicist with the Sydney Observatory, began studying astronomy at university she soon realised how much knowledge was contained in those stories.

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Celebrating Life, Creativity and Country

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Celebrating Life, Creativity and Country

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Tjanpi Desert Wavers

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We're a social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women's Council, working with women in the remote Central and Western deserts who earn an income from contemporary fibre art.

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Maningrida Arts and Culture

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Works in fibre from the Maningrida region are widely recognised as some of the finest in Australia. Artists confidently push the boundaries of fibre craft and cultural expression, adapting traditional techniques and forms to produce strikingly inventive and aesthetically exquisite artworks.

Weaving here takes many forms: utilitarian and decorative, ceremonial and sculptural. Fibre objects include mats, baskets, dillybags and string bags; flattened wall-hanging interpretations of subject matter usually rendered on bark paintings; ceremonial regalia such as armbands and dancing belts; and the sculptural forms of conical fish traps.

Commonly used fibres include the leaves of pandanus ( Pandanus spiralis), and palms ( Livistonus), mírlírl (burney or jungle vine, Malaisia scandens), and the inner bark of kurrajong and stringybark eucalyptus trees. Weaving is physically hard work, now done only by women. They colour the pandanus using natural dyes made from the roots, leaves or flowers of plants within the weaver's clan estate.

The art of fibre has a long history in Arnhem Land as evidenced by the many depictions of fibre objects in the rock art of the escarpment plateaus. There are also spiritual dimensions to weaving, which vary according to the materials used and the totemic significance of the object made.

In the late 1980s, Maningrida artists were closely involved in bringing together a collection of works representative of fibre production in the region, including bark paintings that depict the ancestral origins and use of fibre items. This important collection of approximately 600 works is held in trust for the Maningrida community by the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Mats

Artists weave many different kinds of mats. Conical mats were traditionally used to shield babies from mosquitoes. Long flat mats were used for blocking creeks so that fish would be diverted into fish traps. A small triangular mat made of pandanus fibre used to be worn by women during ceremonial gatherings, tied around their back and covering them at the front. Mats are also used for wrapping and rinsing food in water.

Artists usually use ngarakáya, pandanus spiralis, to weave fragrant, decorative round or oblong mats, as well as the less common triangular and conical shapes. The radial woven patterns of the finest round mats appear to vibrate with colour, sometimes regarded as an aesthetic manifestation of deep cultural meaning, as there is a significant spiritual dimension to pandanus mats. Leading artists in this genre include Freda Wayartja Ali, Bonnie Burarn.garra, Doreen Jinggarrabarra, Lorna Jin-gubarrangunyja.

Dillybags

Béla (dillybags) are collecting bags traditionally used in food and medicine gathering, as well as ceremonially. They are carried by placing the string handle around your forehead, so that the dillybag rests down your back.

Both kinds of béla have a characteristic domed shape and are usually made of fibre from the leaves of the ngarakáya (pandanus plant, Pandanus spiralis). They can be woven in an open twine to allow the circulation of air, so that they are good for carrying food such as shell fish, or woven so finely and tightly that they are leakproof, and thus useful for collecting sugarbag (native honey).

The handles of béla are made from string that is rolled from the fibre of the inner bark of trees such as márno (kurrajongs, Brachychiton diversifolius and Brachychiton paradoxum).

Huge dillybags, yángkaba, were used for carrying large catches of fish. This type of dillybag is usually made from mírlírl (burney vine, Malaisia scandens), a strong pliable plant that grows along the floor and into the canopy of monsoon vine thickets. Yángkaba are crafted in an open twine, and they are very strong and durable.

Ceremonial dillybags are used by men in ceremonial contexts. They often have decorative features, such as a ring of parrot feathers near the brim and strips of fabric woven in with the pandanus fibre at regular spaces. Variations in the decorations, such as the presence or absence of tassels, have spiritual meanings. These meanings are secret and are usually specific to one clan or group of clans that share ceremonial privileges.

Artists today make dillybags in many sizes and they are sold as elegant art pieces as well as functional objects for storing items and dry goods.

String bags

String bags are used for collecting and carrying food such as mud crabs and shellfish. They are flexible and made in a net-like weave from string that is rolled from fibre gleaned from the bark of trees such as kurrajongs ( Brachychiton diversifolius and Brachychiton paradoxum) and nja-djéngka, the white fig ( Ficus virens). The fibre may be dyed with natural pigments from plants.

The bag begins as several strands of string or fibre, which is looped around the weaver's legs as she sits on the ground and then commences to loop string in a spiral from the brim of the bag towards the base. The string bag develops as a woven cylinder until the bottom edge is brought together and secured. A basic looping technique is used for string bags, but sometimes a weaver will modify it by adding an extra twist in the loop. A weaver might also add feathers to string as she rolls the fibre, to create a decorative feathered bag.

Baskets

Coil basketry is a well established fibre art in the Maningrida region, especially for women from the Kuninjku, Rembarrnga, Ndjèbbana and Nakkara language groups.

Artists make coiled baskets of many shapes and sizes, ranging from small round baskets to large oval baskets that were used to carry babies. Mostly they use pandanus fibre that is dyed with natural pigments. Bundles of fibre are formed into coils and the coils are covered and stitched together with strands of fibre threaded onto a needle. The basic stitching technique is a close blanket stitch, but often weavers use variations and add elements such as rosettes for decorative effects, combining colours and patterns to create intricate graphic patterns.

The technique of coil and stitch basketry is believed to have been introduced to Arnhem Land by Greta Matthews, a missionary on Goulburn Island in the 1920s. She had probably learnt coil basketry from Aboriginal people in the south-east of Australia, possibly Murray River people such as the Yorta Yorta or the coastal Ngarrindjeri. The coiling technique spread quickly from Goulburn Island to people on mainland Arnhem Land.

2D artworks

In 2003, Kuninjku artist Marina Murdilnga brought a revolutionary new form of pandanus weaving to Maningrida Arts & Culture: a flat yawkyawk made from knotted pandanus on a jungle-vine frame, painted with natural pigments. She next explored using dyed pandanus and feathers in this way. Murdilnga's innovation inspired many other weavers, who are producing an array of beautifully resolved flat figurative works (stingray, butterflies, spiderwebs) and spiritual figures and Ancestral beings. Alongside Murdilnga, leading artists of this form of fibre art are Anniebell Marnngamarnnga, Frewa Baradluna and Rembarrnga artists Vera Cameron and Maisie Cameron. Lulu Larandjbi is weaving interpretations of the rock pools at Kobumi where Ngalyod (the Rainbow Serpent) entered and died.

Dyes

The weavers of Arnhem Land use their extensive knowledge of plants to impart a wide range of dyes to the fibres they use. The same dye bath is often used to dye a number of batches of fibre, with variations in the colours depending on the time spent in the dye bath and the potency of the bath. The women skilfully use salt and wood ash as mordants and colour enhancers.

During a dyeing session at her home at Wurdeja outstation, east of Maningrida, Laurie Marburduk uses one dye bath to produce three different colours: orange, yellow and red. The main ingredient for the dye is the root of the plant Pogonolobus reticulatus, a straggly, shallow-rooted shrub.

Marburduk prepares the root by peeling off its outer skin and cutting it into smaller pieces. The pieces of root go into a billycan in preparation for boiling with the raw fibre. The first batch of fibre is cooked for about an hour to produce a deep orange colour. After removing the first batch of fibre, Marburduk places a second batch in the billycan and stirs it around for a few minutes before quickly removing it. This yields a bright golden yellow colour. For the third and final batch of fibre, Marburduk adds ash from the wood of the gumtree Eucalyptus alba to the dye bath. She then places the third batch of raw fibre in the billycan and stirs it around. This yields a rich pinky-red colour.
Source: Margaret Carew, 1996, from MAC website, 1997.
Caring for woven objects

The locally sourced fibres used by Arnhem Land artists are strong and supple. Like all organic fibres, they will naturally deteriorate over the years. The best way to maintain the good condition of your woven object is to:

Place it somewhere airy (especially if in tropical climates);

Keep it dust and insect-free by shaking it out regularly;

Minimise exposure to direct sunlight when not in use; and

Keep it out of reach of any pet or baby that might want to chew on it!

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About weaving | Maningrida Arts & Culture

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Works in fibre from the Maningrida region are widely recognised as some of the finest in Australia. Artists confidently push the boundaries of fibre craft and cultural expression, adapting traditional techniques and forms to produce strikingly inventive and aesthetically exquisite artworks. Weaving here takes many forms: utilitarian and decorative, ceremonial and sculptural.

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History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander textiles

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History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander textiles

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Powerhouse Museum

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make a variety of objects from animal and plant fibres. Their skills in basket weaving, knotting and utilising animal skins are evidenced in everyday tools such as baskets for collecting food, nets for fishing and skin cloaks for warmth. They also make ceremonial items such as headgear.

While these traditional crafts are still practised, the arts and crafts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have expanded to include textile techniques such as rug making, hand-painting fabrics, screen-printing and batik, to name just a few.

Arts and crafts were encouraged on some of the missions. Ernabella, for example, was established as a mission station in 1937 by the Presbyterian Church. Unlike on many other missions "there was to be no attempt to break down and destroy the traditional lifestyle, customs or values of the Pitjantjatjara people..." (Hilliard, 1992: 32). By making available "new media which, combined with the traditional skills and art forms of the Pitjantjatjara, were used to produce works of outstanding beauty." (Hilliard, 1992: 32)

In the 1970s a system of appointing craft advisers or arts coordinators was established to foster Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and crafts Australia wide. This system still operates in many communities.

In 1981 the acrylic paintings of the Papunya Tula artists from Western Desert were shown... The abstractly coded, and yet personally and socially symbolic dot-and-circle Aboriginal paintings were received as valid contemporary international art, and rapidly became sought after in international exhibitions and Australian and international collections. (Cochrane, 1992: 326)

This international acceptance of Aboriginal motifs and designs allowed the development of a financially viable arts and crafts industry.

At the same time as white Australian artists were seeking to be considered as workers, with the expectation of some economic viability through their art, Aboriginal artists over a number of decades had also been adapting traditional forms and motifs to make objects which, through sale, would contribute to economic independence. For many communities art products made for an external market provided the main source of independent income. (Cochrane, 1992: 327)

The eighties saw the expansion of a number of important economic enterprises where traditional art, often using new materials, was adapted for an outside market:

workshops run by the Tiwi people expanded the range and quality of their work.

a screen-printing and sewing workshop was established at Jilamara Arts and Crafts at Milikapiti on Melville Island.

batik production expanded at Utopia andErnabella in Central Australia

screen-printing was introduced to Oenpelli in Arnhem Land.

batik, silk painting and screen-printing were introduced to Daly River.

Adapted from (Cochrane, 1992: 328)

String bags
String bags are used for the storage and transport of food and other materials including personal items and tools. They are also used as sieves in the preparation of food, for example, when water lily seeds are separated from their capsules.

These bags can be distinguished by the type of stitch used to make them. Some are made with knots, mainly sheet bends, but not always so; others with looping stitches, the main varieties being simple loop, loop and twist, and hour-glass or figure-of-eight. (ATSIC, 1998: 4)

Making a string bag using figure-of-eight stitches (Photo: A. L. West)

Activity
Write a list of advantages and disadvantages of using a string bag.

Baskets
Baskets made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are of two main types, those made by a weaving technique and coiled baskets. There are varieties within each main group.

With the coiling method, as the name implies, the maker forms a foundation coil from a bundle of fibres, string or cane. In indigenous coiled baskets a working strand of fibre makes a series of button-hole stitches along the foundation which is shaped into tight coils or spirals as the work proceeds. Each button-hole stitch not only encloses a foundation coil but catches through a button-hole on the coil beneath. Flat or conical mats can be made in this way, or baskets if the coils are forced into the vertical as the work progresses.

This method of weaving baskets and other fabrics is known as weft twining. There are two sets of elements, a warp set made of bundles of fibres or a split cane, and a weft set usually with two working strands that interlace with the warps. In some baskets, the makers occasionally use three-weft strands as a decorative device. Three-strand twining results in a noticeable cording effect on the surface of the fabric. (ATSIC, 1998: 4-5)

To obtain a copy of the ATSIC Fibrecrafts brochure phone 02 6121 4000.

Pandanus weaving
The 1992 VicHealth National Craft Award was awarded to Elizabeth Djuttara from the Ramingining community. The term used for weaving in this community is buyu. Buyu-dhamuk means close weave and buyu-gadagada means open weave.

The three youngest branches of leaves from the top of the Gunga (pandanus spirifis) or Screw Palm, are hooked down by a long stick and the prickly edges stripped off with the thumbnail. On returning from the bush the women strip the long leaves into several fibres, bundle them up and hang them to dry. Weaving may commence at this stage, and the finished article left white or decorated with ochres, or the fibres are beautifully coloured with the natural bush dyes, then woven. (Djuttara, 1992: 34)

Ceremonial head dress worn by men in circumcision ceremonies on Mornington Island, Qld. It is made from paperbark and human-hair string and decorated with emu feathers and ochres. Photo: courtesy Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.

Scraping a root of the dye plant Coelospermum reticulatum (Photo: A. L. West)

Animal skin cloaks
While you may be familiar with the traditional textile arts of quilting and patchwork you may not be aware of a similar craft carried out by Aboriginal people using animal skins. An article about Aboriginal animal skin cloaks by Fabri Blacklock, Assistant curator, Koori History and culture, Powerhouse Museum can be found at: www.amol.org.au/nqr/fabri.htm.

Aboriginal skin cloaks and skin quilts can also be seen on the National Quilt Register Tree: http://www.amol.org.au/nqr/tree.asp. Further information on skin cloaks can be found at: http://search.museum.vic.gov.au/docpub/documents/10329.pdf.

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History of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander textiles

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make a variety of objects from animal and plant fibres. Their skills in basket weaving, knotting and utilising animal skins are evidenced in everyday tools such as baskets for collecting food, nets for fishing and skin cloaks for warmth. They also make ceremonial items such as headgear.

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Australian Aboriginal Art Symbols and their Meanings

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Australian Aboriginal Art Symbols and their Meanings

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Japingka Aboriginal Art

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Australian Aboriginal Art Symbols & Meanings - Japingka Gallery

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Australian Aboriginal artists use symbols to express the stories of their culture. Understanding the meaning behind symbols requires context.

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Artlandish - Aboriginal Art Gallery

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What do all the different symbols in Aboriginal Art mean? Artlanidsh Gallery takes a deeper look!

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Artlandish - Aboriginal Art Gallery

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Aboriginal culture dates back as far as 60,000 years, possibly longer. This is when Aboriginal people first settled in what is now known as Australia. The first evidence of Aboriginal ethos or philosophy is evident in the still visible rock art which dates back more than 20,000 years.

Ochres were used to paint on rocks. Archaeologists have been able to date remains and findings as far back as 40,000 to 60,000 years from discoveries of primal campsites.

Aboriginal Art & Symbols

There is no written language for Aboriginal People so in order to convey their important cultural stories through the generations, it is portrayed by symbols/icons through their artwork.

It is imperative to pass on information to preserve their culture. Indigenous art is centered on story telling. It is used as a chronical to convey knowledge of the land, events and beliefs of the Aboriginal people.

The use of symbols is an alternate way to writing down stories of cultural significance, teaching survival and use of the land. The interpretations of the iconography differ depending on the audience.

When being told to children it would take on a simpler form highlighting the educational and behavioural aspect. There can be a combination of information and moral teachings behind the story. The children are taught right from wrong and the consequences of good and bad behaviour.

The stories, however would be interpreted at a very different and higher level form when teaching to initiated elders.

History of Aboriginal Art

Although Australian Aboriginals have been using ochres as body paint, on bark and rocks for tens of thousands of years it was not until the 1930's that the first paintings were done.

These were not done in ochre or in dot art but in water colour at the Hermannsburg mission near Alice Springs.

They illustrated desert landscapes. The first exhibition was in 1937 by the most famous of the first aboriginal watercolour painters, Albert Namatjira. His exhibition was held in Adelaide.

Below are several of his artworks and a collage of images.

Up until the early 1970s artists mainly used watercolours. Ochre and bark paintings were starting to become available to non-Indigenous admirers and at Ernabella mission in 1948 an art and craft centre was founded.

Traditionally paintings by Aboriginals were drawn on rock walls, ceremonial articles, as body paint and most significantly drawn in dirt or sand together with songs or stories. Artwork we see today on canvas and board commenced merely 50 years ago.

The Birth Of "Contemporary" Indigenous Art

In 1971, a school teacher named Geoffrey Bardon was working with Aboriginal children in Papunya, near Alice Springs. He noticed whilst the Aboriginal men were telling stories they would draw symbols in the sand.

He encouraged them to paint the stories onto canvas and board. This began the famous Aboriginal art movement. It was a major jump for Indigenous people to start painting their stories onto western facades which was a very foreign concept to them.

Since then Australian Aboriginal Art has been identified as the most exciting contemporary art form of the 20th Century. Aboriginal Artists need permission to paint particular stories.

They inherit the rights to these stories which are passed down through generations within certain skin groups. An Aboriginal artist cannot paint a story that does not belong to them through family.

Aboriginal Dreaming

Creation Law is the heart of Aboriginal culture and consequently for Aboriginal art. It sets down the Dreaming which provides the identity for Aboriginal people and their association or link to the land.

Dreamtime or Jukurrpa and Tingari (the term varies according to their particular local language) is the translation of the Creation of time for the Aboriginal People. Most Aboriginal Artists paint facets of their Dreaming which forms a share of their inheritance and identity.
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Dots in Aboriginal Art

Many people believe that dots were used to hide information from white men when the Aboriginal people became afraid that they would be able to see and understand their sacred, private knowledge. The dots were used to obscure the secret symbols or iconography underneath.

The Many Styles of Aboriginal Art

Aboriginal art differs in character and style depending from which region the artist is from and what language is spoken. Most contemporary art can be recognised from the community where it was created.

The use for ochre paints is marked in Arnhem Land and east Kimberley. Materials (colours) used for Aboriginal art was originally obtained from the local land. Ochre or iron clay pigments were used to produce colours such as white, yellow, red and black from charcoal.

Other colours were soon added such as smokey greys, sage greens and saltbush mauves.

During the mid 1980's more Aboriginal women artists appeared on the scene and a wider range of modern colours were chosen and bright desert paintings started to arrive on the market.

Choice of colour continues to be an identifying feature of a particular style in many communities; Papunya Tula, part of the western desert art movement is known for its use of soft earth colours whilst many other Western Desert Communities opt for strong primary colours.

The styles vary dramatically even within regions and there is certainly no hard rule here as can be seen in many of Papunya's artworks that don't necessarily follow this thinking.

Other artistic variations pinpoint more closely to specific communities. Again, the styles can vary significantly within communities as well, although many become "well known" for a particular style of art.

A very popular style adopted by artists is painting from an aerial view. Many Indigenous artists imagine themselves hovering over the land (country) observing both the natural and metaphysical forms or markings of the landscape.

This characteristic style is quite popular and has led to some incredible works being produced. Knowledge of water sources and locations of bush tucker are drawn onto these maps.

Songlines or Dreaming tracks laid down in the Creation time by the spirit Ancestors are also laid down by the artist. These bird's eye views are characteristic of a hunter and gatherer society.

They read the earth surface closely for signs of life, for tracking animals and recognising recent events.

The Rise of The Indigenous Art Market

May 2007 saw the first piece of Indigenous art sold for more than $1 million. It was achieved by Emily Kame Kngwarreye's work 'Earth's Creation' also sold in 2007 to a private buyer for $1.056 million.

The same year in July of one of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri's acclaimed work 'Warlugulong "map series" reached $2.4 million.

Aboriginal Art is equally at home in both galleries and museums. The Indigenous Aboriginal people of Australia are arguably the most successful and certainly the longest surviving culture in human history.

It is complex and focused on long term survival in the most hostile of environments. It has deep knowledge, spiritual, cultural and practical survival teachings.

Aboriginal Art reflects the earliest period of this ancient culture; it has both artistic and anthropological merit. This is one of the reasons it is so special and important.

Aboriginal Art & Remote Communities

Contemporary Aboriginal art has been an incentive for remote Aboriginal communities, in many places being the only business in small communities providing significant income to Aboriginal families.

The art movement has helped to strengthen culture in Aboriginal society by reinforcing the values of traditional knowledge, which forms the basis of Aboriginal art.

Now there is much Aboriginal art being produced in hundreds of remote communities around Australia and by urban Aboriginal artists.

Supporting Aboriginal art has a secondary effect in supporting the language and culture of Indigenous families who chose to live in remote locations linked to their own ancestral lands.

These groups are the largest contributors to art works seen in galleries and museums around the country.

Art + Culture = A Brighter Future

Aboriginal art has brought about a revival of their culture in many ways. It has substantially knocked down barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding on the part of westerners.

Our admiration of Indigenous art and our readiness to pay for it has helped Aboriginal people financially and most importantly given them a place of respect, standing and greater confidence.

It has revitalised young Aboriginal's appreciation and understanding of their culture through the teachings of the elders through this medium. Westerners admire the outstanding beauty and meaning of Aboriginal art which has completely changed relationships between the people and has helped build stronger bridges of understanding.

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The story of Australian Aboriginal Art. If you are looking for a great overview of what Aboriginal Art is all about, click to visit us and read this in depth article now.

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National gallery of Australia

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National Parks and Wildlife service

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Conservation and heritage | NSW National Parks

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NSW National Parks manages conservation of biodiversity, historic and Aboriginal cultural sites of significance within over 850 protected areas in NSW.

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Queensland Government

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Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (Queensland Government)

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The Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships is responsible for administering the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 and the Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (the Acts).

The main purpose of the Acts is to provide effective recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage.

The Acts define Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage as anything that is:

a significant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander area in Queensland; or

a significant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander object in Queensland; or

evidence of archaeological or historic significance, of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander occupation of an area of Queensland.

An area or object is significant because of either or both of the following:

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander tradition

the history, including contemporary history, of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander party for the area.

The Acts:

provide blanket protection of areas and objects of traditional, customary, and archaeological significance

recognise the key role of Traditional Owners in cultural heritage matters

establish practical and flexible processes for dealing with cultural heritage in a timely manner.

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The Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships is responsible for administering the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 and the Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (the Acts). The main purpose of the Acts is to provide effective recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage.

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Aboriginal Art & Culture

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40,000 Years

Arrernte people have been here since time began. We have come out of the DREAMTIME.

1860

It took 72 years from the white occupation of Eastern Australia in 1788 , for an explorer (John Stuart) to visit Central Australia.

1872

The Overland telegraph line connecting Adelaide to Darwin cuts Arrernte land down the middle.

1880's

Bloody conflict between Aboriginals in the centre and intending white settlers . Guerrilla warfare by Aboriginals results in many massacre reprisals.

1890's

Southern Arrernte tribe "rounded-up" and forcibly moved to Hermannsburg Mission 120 km West of Alice Springs.

In order to "protect" Aboriginal people from the ravages of colonialism, and because social-Darwinist teachings of the 19th Century led to a belief that the Aboriginal race would die out, special areas were often set aside where our people were forced to live. These were either government-controlled reserves or Church-controlled missions.

In both cases our people were forced to suffer extreme regimentation and to rely on rations for sustenance. In the 1890's, and again after the World War I, many of the reserves were closed down and the land taken away from our people and given to non-Aboriginal people for farming. This had the effect of forcing many people to live in camps on the fringes of towns where they suffered appalling poverty and deprivation.

1920's

Those of our people , living in poverty and ill health ,constituted what was called "the Aboriginal problem". Since we had no died out, other ways of dealing with "the problem", were adopted.

Children were stolen from their parents and placed in homes where they were to be trained in the ways of white people and to become, for example, farm labourers if boys and domestic servants if girls.

Stealing of the children was most pronounced where a child had an Aboriginal parent and a non-Aboriginal parent : The continuation of this policy of "dissociating the children from camp life must eventually solve the Aboriginal problem" (Aborigines Welfare Board 1921).

1930's

By the 1930's it was further decided that the Aboriginal problem would be solved by all our people becoming white. This became official government policy, known as the policy of assimilation, whereby

" Ö in practical terms in the course of time, it is expected that all persons of Aboriginal blood or mixed blood in Australia will live like white Australian's do.

1960's

By the 1960's , it was clear that our race would neither "die off", nor would we abandon our lands, our culture, and our families to be like the white man".

This decade saw the beginning of the modern land rights movement, the development of the first national organisation of Indigenous Australians - the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigenes and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) - and the first widespread awakening by non-Aboriginal Australians to our claims for justice.

1963

In 1963, the Yolngu people of the north east Arnhem Land community of Yirrkala, faced with their traditional lands being taken over by a huge bauxite mine, presented a bark petition to the Federal Parliament.

This protest alerted Australians to the continuing dispossession of our people's traditional lands. It led to a court case in which Justice Blackburn ruled that the Yolngu could not prevent mining on their lands because he said Australia was legally "Terra Nullius" (empty land) as our people had no recognisable legal or land tenure system.

This was to lead in 1973 to the establishment of the Woodward Commission into land rights in the Northern Territory.

1967

Changes in constitution recognises Aboriginal people an Australian citizen with equal rights to vote. The cattle industry reacts by phasing out Aboriginal labour and driving Aboriginal communities off properties.

1976

Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act passed.

1992

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Tickner invokes the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Act to protect women's sites near Alice Springs, threatened by a dam proposed by the Northern Territory Government Ö

1993

The Mabo Case / Native Title
The Mabo Case - Eddie Mabo and Others v. The State of Queensland - was a decision of the High Court which found that Aboriginal native title was not extinguished - or wiped out - by the British invasion and that Australia was not terra nullius, Latin for "empty land". Koiki, or Eddie, Mabo, was a member of the Meriam People, the traditional owners of Murray Island and surrounding islands and reefs in the Torres Strait. In 1982, Mabo , the Mabo case changes the way we think about land law in Australia.

While the sovereignty of the Crown continues, terra nullius is found to have never existed and instead native title has been recognised. Aboriginal customary land law - or native title - continues alongside British Common and statute law. Native Title was gradually extinguished parcel by parcel as colonial and later governments issued titles. Native Title is likely to exist over land that is categorised as unalienated Crown land, national parks declared over land that we unalienated Crown land at the time of the declaration, and over reserved lands.

There are two grounds for proving that Native Title continues to exist under the common law. The claimant group must prove that it owns the land under the relevant Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander customary land laws, and the descendants of the group who owned the land in 1788, must have had a continuous association with the land. In response to the Mabo case, the Federal Government passed the Native Title Act in December 1993 and has establishing a national land fund in 1994.

Related Topics:

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40,000 Years Arrernte people have been here since time began. We have come out of the DREAMTIME. 1860 It took 72 years from the white occupation of Eastern Australia in 1788 , for an explorer (John Stuart) to visit Central Australia. 1872 The Overland telegraph line connecting Adelaide to Darwin cuts Arrernte land down the middle.

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What about history? How our history of invasion and social controls impacts today

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What about history? How our history of invasion and social controls impacts today

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Australians Together organisation

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History Of Australia | Australians Together

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Our history matters. Learn how Austraila's shared history continues to impact life for many Indigenous people. Browse Australians Together's online resources.

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An autonomous, prosperous and sustainable community and council

Colonial history of the Torres Strait:

The first inhabitants of the Torres Strait migrated from the Indonesian archipelago 70,000 years ago, when Papua New Guinea was still attached to the Australian continent.

The first navigator credited with coming across the islands is the Spaniard, Luis Vaez de Torres, who sailed through the Strait in 1606.

James Cook first claimed British sovereignty over the eastern part of Australia in 1770 at Possession Island.

The pearl shed in 1860 led to an influx of people from the Asia-Pacific region, including Europeans.

The pearling industry employed 700 people in 1877 and more than 100 pearl luggers, with trade stopping at the end of WWII.

The London Missionary Society led by Rev. Samuel Macfarlane arrived on Erub (Darnley Island) on 1 July 1871. This is referred to by Islanders as "The Coming of the Light" and is celebrated annually by all Island communities on 1 July.

The Torres Strait Islands were annexed in 1879 by Queensland, becoming part of the British colony of Queensland. After 1901, the Islands became part of the Australian State of Queensland, despite some islands positioned off the New Guinea coast.

In 1898 to 1899 the Torres Strait Islands were visited by the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition led by Alfred Cort Haddon.

The Torres Strait Islanders become subject to the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act in 1904.

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Skip to content An autonomous, prosperous and sustainable community and council Colonial history of the Torres Strait: The first inhabitants of the Torres Strait migrated from the Indonesian archipelago 70,000 years ago, when Papua New Guinea was still attached to the Australian continent.

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Earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation of Australian coast discovered

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Earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation of Australian coast discovered

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The Guardian

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Australia's earliest known site of human occupation of the Australian coast has been discovered in a remote cave in Western Australia, pushing back the start date of Indigenous occupation to more than 50,000 years ago.
Humans arrived in Australian interior 49,000 years ago, archaeologists believe
Archaeologists led by the University of Western Australia found evidence of inhabitation on Barrow Island in the country's north west, discovering charcoal, animal remains and ancient artefacts that confirmed hunter-gatherer occupation.

Located 60 kilometres off the Pilbara coast, the Boodie cave on Barrow Island was cut off from the mainland roughly 7,000 years ago due to rising sea levels.

But researchers found the cave had been used as a hunting shelter from as early as 50,000 years ago, before becoming a residential base for groups of families from 10,000 years ago.

"This pushes back the age of occupation from the previous and more conservative limit of 47,000 years ago," said lead archaeologist Peter Veth. "Even older dates are entirely plausible."

The researchers said the site contained the longest record of dietary fauna in Australia. "Barrow Island provided rich records of ancient artefacts, gathering and hunting of marine and arid animals, and environmental signatures which show the use of a now-drowned coastal desert landscape," said Veth.

Evidence of 9,000-year-old stone houses found on Australian island

"Particularly in the north west of Barrow Island there were rock shelters and deep chambers and caves where there were excellent and well-preserved remains ... we managed to piece together a picture of this extraordinary adaptation. The first evidence of Australians living on the coastline [and] the first Australians."

"The cave was used predominately as a hunting shelter between about 50,000 and 30,000 years ago before becoming a residential base for family groups after 10,000 years ago. It was abandoned by about 7,000 years ago when rising sea levels finally cut it off from the mainland," he said.

"Our current research at Barrow Island has provided the earliest evidence of coastal living in Australia. Remarkably the early colonists of the now-submerged North West Shelf did not turn their back on the sea or remain coastally tethered but rapidly adapted to the new marsupial animals and arid zone plants of the extensive maritime deserts of North West Australia."

Published in the Quarternary Science Review, the research was assisted by the University of Queensland, the University of Adelaide, the University of Waikato and Oxford University, among others.

The team worked with four different international dating laboratories and was supported by the Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal corporation and Kuruma Marthudunera Aboriginal corporation.
Topics

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Earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation of Australian coast discovered

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Australia's earliest known site of human occupation of the Australian coast has been discovered in a remote cave in Western Australia, pushing back the start date of Indigenous occupation to more than 50,000 years ago.

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Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander collection timeline

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Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander collection timeline

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Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander collection timeline

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A timeline of Australian Museum exhibitions, events, cultural object and policies connected to Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.

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Torres Strait Island Culture, protocols and heritage

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Torres Strait Island Culture, protocols and heritage

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An autonomous, prosperous and sustainable community and council

Our culture

Torres Strait Islanders have a distinct culture which varies slightly within each island or community.

We are a sea-faring people, and engaged in trade with people of Papua New Guinea. The culture is complex, with some Australian elements, Papuan elements and Austronesian elements (also seen in the languages spoken).

Like Aboriginal people of mainland Australia, Torres Strait Islanders are traditionally agriculturalists and food is supplemented through hunting and gathering. Cooking and hunting is distinct to the Torres Strait culture and is taught from a young age.

More recent post-colonial history has seen new cultural influences, most notably Christianity.

Our people of the Torres Strait have a long history of developing stories, crafts and games, including:

traditional dancing styles performed at celebrations

storytelling and music (such as singing and drumming) passed down from generation to generation.

Our people also have private cultural practices involving adoption and gift-giving within Torres Strait families.

Read TSRA's Torres Strait Cultural Protocols to find out more.

**THIS PAGE IS CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW, WE WELCOME ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT - Please email engagement@tsirc.qld.gov.au**

Languages

There are two distinct languages spoken throughout the Torres Strait:

Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kalau Kawau Ya, Kulkalgau and Kawalgau Ya. These are dialects of the Western-central Torres Strait Language (Kala Lagaw Ya), and are spoken on the southwestern, western, northern and central islands. They are related to Aboriginal languages.

Meriam Mir is related to Papuan languages and is spoken on the eastern islands.

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Our culture Torres Strait Islanders have a distinct culture which varies slightly within each island or community. We are a sea-faring people, and engaged in trade with people of Papua New Guinea. The culture is complex, with some Australian elements, Papuan elements and Austronesian elements (also seen in the languages spoken).

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with Richard Fejo

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The Indigenous Kinship System with Richard Fejo

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The Killing times: a massacre map of Australia's frontier wars

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The Killing times: a massacre map of Australia's frontier wars

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The Guardian

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Latest The Killing Times news, comment and analysis from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

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ABC Education

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Education resources for schools teachers and students - ABC Education

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ABC Education has 5000+ educational games, videos and teaching resources for schools and students. Free Primary and Secondary resources covering history, science, English, maths and more